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Billy Joel Will Play Dodger Stadium For The First Time This May
(Getty)
First of all, Billy Joel will play Dodger Stadium for the first time ever on May 13, with tickets going on sale Friday, January 13. Second of all, Billy Joel may be tied to New York City, but he's also got some West Coast in his bones, from his days as an unknown lounge singer at the now-shuttered Executive Room in Los Angeles.
The announcement for the May show came with this reminder: "[Joel] first came to prominence in the 1970s living in Los Angeles as a piano player and lounge singer at the Executive Room in Los Angeles under the name, Bill Martin." In fact, the patrons of the Executive Room—where he played for around six months in 1972—were the inspiration for a little song called "Piano Man."
Don't go looking for the old haunt, though, it was demolished in the 1980s, and appears to be a strip mall parking lot these days. where Joel played for 6 months in 1972. The characters from his song Piano Man are based on the customers and staff at the bar. Here's what it looked like back in the day:
(Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection)
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Joel lasted about four years in L.A., before returning to New York City in 1976.
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