If you have ever sung “Piano Man” a little too loud on karaoke night or drifted into nostalgia with “Vienna,” then you know Billy Joel isn’t just another musician-he’s a feeling. A storyteller who gave sound to our growing pains, heartbreaks, and hungover mornings. And now, with Billy Joel: And So It Goes on HBO, fans finally get a real look behind the curtain-not just the hits, but the human being who made them.
Documentary may never have emerged if not for the effort of two executive producers, Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, who led the project. Their effort is reflected in a two-part film, powerful and tear-provoking, which is, in fact, the most revealing and the most raw. There is neither glossing nor sugarcoating, simply honesty.
Billy Joel’s role was very important, and his openness, full of love and understanding of himself, was the reason the whole story found a deep echo in people’s hearts. The film, instead of going around the block, directly faces the artist’s troubles; the flick traverses the ups and downs of his life, essentially, it is about how these things shaped him.
The first thing users are offered to see is an extremely raw and not tinted image of Joel. He confesses to his alcohol dependence, the difficulty of his relationships, and the creative burnout pain he has experienced. These stages don’t put him on a pedestal; they make him relatable. His honesty furnishes the documentary with a closeness that is rarely felt; thus, the audiences get a glimpse of the celebrity behind the acclaim, the latter being devoid of any mask.
One of the most outstanding features of the film is, first, to unite all four ex-wives of Joel and then, not less important, to let each of them talk with unexpected frankness and share their personal insights, which are a combination of joke, weep, and afterthought. The ladies’ accounts of the maddening side of a life in the company of a worldwide superstar not only serve as chronicles; they also demonstrate a mutual understanding and respect, which, it is said, can only come with time. As a result of their combined efforts, they put forward a comprehensive image of Joel – the one that judges him not as a scarcely reachable legend but a complicated, flawed, and deeply human figure.
Among them, Elizabeth Weber, Joel’s first wife, plays a particularly pivotal role. More than just a romantic partner, she was his manager, strategist, and creative compass. When his career was going through the peak with the success of Just the Way You Are, her clever moves and business brilliance were what made Billy Joel a star. One critic, for instance, said that without her, it would be nearly impossible to see how Billy Joel could become Billy Joel.
Nevertheless, popularity does come with its drawbacks. After the break-up, Joel made an unfortunate choice of hiring Weber’s brother as his manager, which eventually brought him into a terrible financial situation. A $90 million lawsuit against him almost made him emotionally and financially bankrupt. The painful experience served as a reminder that even the most influential people are capable of falling hard when love and business come together.
Joel was also involved in a feud with the music press throughout his career. The media criticized him for being too mainstream and too polished for the edgier rock and punk that were the trends at that time. NPR’s Steven Hyden says that Joel’s fixation on getting praise from the critics was what eventually led to his downfall because the more he tried, the more he was actually confirming their accusations. One of the scenes from the film shows Joel, in rage and full of fight spirit, tearing up his bad reviews in front of the audience-a very human, raw act of disappointment.
This is what, however, gave life to his songs beneath all that pride and weariness. Joel’s songs are filled with longing, confusion, and vulnerability; they are about the pain of common life. As Hyden says, Joel is writing about restlessness and emptiness; these are the topics that never lose their popularity. This is the reason why songs like Vienna are still extremely popular and why his long-term Madison Square Garden residency turned into a legend.
Right now, Joel has no plans to release new songs. According to him, he has already said everything he needed to through his music, and a new pop song is rarely able to move him. Apparently, he is putting his energy into his family, his health, and a quieter kind of life now. Nevertheless, these old songs of his keep having the same effect on people as if every song is a little piece of his spirit put in there for eternity.
And So It Goes is a good example. The life of Billy Joel has never been perfect; it is more about sticking to it, taking the blows, doing the painful things, and having the courage to go back to the piano. His path is not about fame; it is about the quest for sense amid disorder.
When you watch the last scene, you will probably think that you need to listen to The Stranger or 52nd Street once more, but this time with the new insight. Billy Joel: And So It Goes is more than just a documentary; it serves as a very touching and powerful reminder of how the music of one man still goes on and on through the years. Essentially, even when the songs come to an end, the story is still there.
Billy Joel’s journey is messy, complicated, and deeply human-just like his songs. And that’s what makes And So It Goes so powerful. It’s not about the legend of Billy Joel. It’s about the man behind the melodies-and how sometimes the hardest truths make the most beautiful music.