Council member recalls meeting Billy Joel

Council member recalls meeting Billy Joel
Journal Inquirer - Manchester,CT,USA
VERNON - When Billy Joel plays his record-breaking 22nd career performance at the Hartford Civic Center later today, Bill Fox will be there to see it. ...

VERNON - When Billy Joel plays his record-breaking 22nd career performance at the Hartford Civic Center later today, Bill Fox will be there to see it.
But for Fox, a Town Council member and avid Joel fan, nothing will top the February 1996 night when he had the chance to meet the "piano man."

Joel had been in the midst of a tour of colleges around the U.S., which included a stop at the Jorgenson Auditorium, on University of Connecticut's Storrs campus. Shortly after Joel's performance, Fox had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet one of his favorite musicians.

At the center of the meeting was an album known as "Cold Spring Harbor," Joel's first professional solo effort.

In the fall of 1979, Fox, then a student at Syracuse University, saw a profile on Joel, in which he talked about the album. Around 1971, Joel recorded the album, but a producing error wreaked havoc with its sound.

Fox said the apparent mistake left Joel sounding like he had a higher pitched voice, similar that of "Mickey Mouse."

Irritated with the result, Joel reportedly signed away his royalty rights to the album and moved to California, where he went underground and spent a lot of his time writing music and playing piano bars under the name "Bill Martin".

After learning about the album, Fox told his father that he would love to get a copy of it.

Much to Fox's surprise, he later received an original, unopened copy of the album, which his father, who is also named Bill, bought with the help of local record dealer Cliff Edwards. The album was given as a present to Fox, whose birthday happens to fall on Christmas Day.

Fast-forward 16 years - Joel's tour is scheduled to stop at UConn and Fox makes plans to be in attendance. Knowing his love for Joel's music and his desire to get the album signed, Fox's girlfriend Lisa Madow of Fairfield began making inquiries into the possibility of getting Joel's autograph.

After speaking to the manager of Joel's college tour, Madow was told that Joel would likely be able to sign the album, if she could prove that Fox actually had the album, Fox said.

When they arrived at the hall that night, Madow held the album up for one of the stagehands, who gave her a wink, sealing the meeting.

All of this had happened without Fox's knowledge.

When the performance was over, Madow suggested that Fox, who is disabled, wait for a few minutes while the assembled crowd filed out.

When Madow indicated that he go toward the front of the stage, Fox said he began to suspect that something was afoot. Ten minutes after arriving at a door next to the stage, Joel himself came downstairs and greeted Fox.

"He said 'Hi, I'm Billy Joel, nice to meet you," Fox said. "He's one of those people - it was as if he had known me and I had known him all my life."

The two talked for more than 20 minutes, with Fox asking Joel questions about his music.

During the conversation, Fox mentioned that he had the album "Cold Spring Harbor" and that he heard that Joel "hated" the album.

During the course of the meeting, Joel put his autograph on a small piece of paper, which was later attached to the album. In addition to the autograph, Joel attached a personal note: "I don't hate this album."

Reflecting on the experience, Fox said he had a hard time believing that the meeting was actually taking place.

"I couldn't believe it was happening as it was happening, but I was experiencing it, so I knew it was real," Fox said. "

An experience that will likely be remembered fondly when Fox attends Joel's record-breaking show in Hartford, tonight.