William Joseph Martin -Billy- Joel (born May 9; 1949) is an American pianist and singer-songwriter. He released his first hit song; -Piano Man-; in 1973. According to the RIAA; he is the sixth best-selling recording artist in the United States.Joel had Top 10 hits in the -70s; -80s; and -90s; is a six-time Grammy Award winner; and has sold in excess of 150 million albums worldwide. He was inducted into the Songwriter-s Hall of Fame (Class of 1992); the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Class of 1999); and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (Class of 2006). Joel -retired- from recording pop music in 1993 but continued to tour. "Allentown" is a Billy Joel song, which first appeared on Joel's The Nylon Curtain (1982) album, accompanied by a conceptual music video. It later appeared on Joel's Greatest Hits: Volume II (1985), 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert (2000), The Essential Billy Joel (2001), and "12 Gardens Live" (2006) albums. "Allentown" is the lead track on The Nylon Curtain, which was the seventh best-selling album of the year in 1982. The song reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the most-played radio songs of 1982. The video was.