BILLY JOEL Covers AC/DC's 'Highway To Hell' In Florida; Video Available
- Jan. 19, 2009
Video footage of "piano man" Billy Joel performing a cover version of the AC/DC classic "Highway To Hell" on Friday, January 16 at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida can be viewed below. One of Joel's roadies sang the song while Billy played rhythm guitar.
Billy Joel was previously joined by AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson and bassist Cliff Williams during a 2002 concert in Tampa, Florida (where Billy performed with ELTON JOHN) for a rendition of "Highway To Hell".
Despite Billy Joel's predominantly pop background, the singer was once part of a "psychedelic hard rock" duo called ATTILA, which released a self-titled debut LP through Epic Records in 1970 before getting dropped by the label due to poor record sales.
(Thanks: JP Gouleven)
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COMMENT | Was the really the piano man? posted by : cirkis 1/19/2009 7:52:39 AM
He ain't metal, but he's my favorite performer ever. An amazing songwriter and lots of fun songs, worships and channels stuff from AC/DC and Zeppelin. Anyone who listens to his earlier music before he broke through knows he can rock out. Some of those songs from the early days like Ballad of Billy The Kid and Scenes From An Italian Restaurant are the beginnings of prog metal crawling from the primoridial ooze. Pressure would have been an amazing metal song sped up and with slightly different lyrics. Good shit, Billy--keep kicking ass!
COMMENT | i saw that attila album posted by : namiboy 1/19/2009 8:26:14 AM
way back in the early '80's i saw that album at a neighbors house. it was billy on some kind of organ/synth and a drummer and that's it. it was really heavy and the picture on the cover they were like in a cave and wearing loincloths or something. i'm gonna go look it up on allmusic.
COMMENT | BILLY ROCKS! posted by : rds 1/19/2009 8:43:22 AM
ONE OF THE FIRST RECORDS I BOUGHT WAS GLASSHOUSE, WHICH LED TO MORE AND MORE ROCK AND ROLL, METAL, GRIND, BLACKEND, DOOM, THRASH.
HAIL THE PIANOMAN...
COMMENT | posted by : Dee67 1/19/2009 8:45:42 AM
Billy Joel is great. Very talented and cool guy.
COMMENT | posted by : Aces_High99 1/19/2009 8:56:09 AM
Bill Joel might not exactly be the average Blabbermouth reader's taste, but he's a great pianist and songwriter.
And he's VERY funny and down-to-earth. It's fitting that he's covering another down-to-earth, laid-back band like AC/DC.
COMMENT | posted by : aia94 1/19/2009 9:11:26 AM
he performs this almost every night nowadays so it's nothing new or rare.
COMMENT | posted by : Nickodinho 1/19/2009 9:24:43 AM
WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!! BILLY JOEL IS CRAP!!
COMMENT | CIRKIS... posted by : Joe Mama 1/19/2009 10:09:35 AM
If you would read the article, it said that Joel was on the guitar and a roadie was singing the song. The fat guy was the roadie, not Billy Joel.
COMMENT | This isn't the first time.... posted by : Benjammn 1/19/2009 10:12:10 AM
...they have covered "Highway to Hell" in concert. They did so when I saw Billy Joel in January 2007 in Raleigh, and it was completely awesome. It was funny as my parents like Billy Joel a lot, but were confused with the huge reaction from the crowd (including myself) to playing AC/DC. Note that it isn't Billy Joel singing, but his head guitar jockey, whose voice matches Brian Johnson's.
COMMENT | Glass Houses, frickin' A posted by : dxf 1/19/2009 10:22:52 AM
Dude had some killer riffs into the early 80s. The Beastie Boys' cover of "Big Shot" is worth digging up.
COMMENT | posted by : ThrAsh4evernever 1/19/2009 10:24:08 AM
Are you shitting me? Billy Joel? Whats next, News about kanye West? Blabbermouth needs to fire the news guy for this crap
COMMENT | Billy kicks ass.... posted by : riley23 1/19/2009 10:30:54 AM
Billy Joel is great performer and songwriter, great to see him featured here.
COMMENT | Joe Mama posted by : cirkis 1/19/2009 10:31:28 AM
Thanks for pointing that out, that's what I get for just glancing at the text.
COMMENT | Relevance? posted by : Olbernads 1/19/2009 11:37:02 AM
In other news, Henry Brown of Flint, Michigan did a karaoke rendition of "Turbo Lover" by Judas Priest last Friday.
And btw Alexis Joel is a "singer" and she sounds like a mix between a dog whistle and my hamster when my 3 year old holds it too tight.
COMMENT | Cool video posted by : RiotAct666 1/19/2009 11:41:09 AM
Billy Joel is one of music greatest performers & songwriters of all time.
Long Live The Piano Man \m/ \m/
COMMENT | Billy Joel... posted by : smurf 1/19/2009 12:18:12 PM
Kicks Ass!!!
COMMENT | GREAT PERFORMER posted by : Land of the Lost Horizon 1/19/2009 12:18:28 PM
saw billy joel early last year for the first time. no complaints here. he put on a very good show.
COMMENT | well posted by : Steve Guttenberg 1/19/2009 12:36:38 PM
Im from long island I don't like this guy
he goes to restaurants here gets tons of food for him and his people and then asks "can we get comped for this!??"....then gets it all free, and pays NO TIP
COMMENT | posted by : PikeChopsaw 1/19/2009 12:50:05 PM
^^Dont get so uptight Thrash4evernerver. I thought it was pretty cool.
And yeah, Billy Joel is not metal but he is a good musician and songwriter nevertheless. Glass House is a great album (as someone above mentioned)
COMMENT | Ugh!!! posted by : rando 1/19/2009 1:10:23 PM
That was absolutely horrible. If I had to watch this again, I'd be begging for Celine Dion. As excited as they got about it, perhaps the crowd should save their money for an AC/DC concert next time around, instead of "rocking out" to a lame pop artist. I've got no problem with pop music, in general, but Billy Joel is the worst of the bunch, along with John Cougar and Bruce Springsteen. Great performers, maybe, but their music is garbage. For all I know, the Joel fans up above listen to him in shuffle play with Cannibal Corpse and Meshuggah, so I'll refrain from calling out anybody's manhood. However, you are all clearly insane if you think Billy Joel makes decent music.
COMMENT | wa! posted by : laggerlugger 1/19/2009 1:12:55 PM
it's not death metal or thrash so it sucks!what a bunch of whiney punks and losers you guys are!believe it or not the are people out there who like real music and billy joel falls into that catagorey. back in the day he made some good old rock and roll not metal by any stretch but still good music.this just shows he still puts on a good show and has a good time.I was surprised to see this on here to but besides the kiss blurb did not see anyone else who I even heard on the thread list to click onto. now go back to worshiping satan or whatever you death metal freaks do and stop posting on threads you know nothing about!
COMMENT | rando posted by : Land of the Lost Horizon 1/19/2009 1:16:51 PM
i saw all 3 of those artists last year; billy joel, mellencamp and springsteen. i've seen mellencamp and springsteen several times, and they both put on great shows. obviously you don't like their style, but i think they've got some great music. springsteen played for 3 and a half hours at the harley 105th, and it was probably one of the best shows i have ever seen. lets see any of these newer artists do that.
COMMENT | posted by : pigchop 1/19/2009 1:42:36 PM
Some of you fucks are so caught up in a tiny bubble of music that you are really missing out on some truly great music.
Open your heads up, man - you might dig some of what you may discover.
I'm not in a bubble. My cd collection is more expansive and diverse than any you have seen. I just despise Billy Joel. His songs are nothing more than commercial jingles dressed up as songs. In a more perfect world, Billy Joel would be trying to sell me a five-dollar-footlong instead of giving me a reason to never turn on the radio.
And really, that AC/DC cover was HORRIBLE.
COMMENT | To those closed-minded metal pinheads who listen to nothing but metal, posted by : VelveetaRevolver 1/19/2009 2:24:53 PM
maybe the music of other performers from other genres might sound better if you simply removed your head from your stupid asses.
COMMENT | posted by : tenplex 1/19/2009 3:32:53 PM
It would be bigger news if Billy Joel actually sang the song instead of his fat douchebag roadie who sounds like shit.
COMMENT | rando posted by : Land of the Lost Horizon 1/19/2009 3:41:26 PM
would you mind providing us with some examples? not trying to be a smartass, i'm just curious. my cd collection is pretty diverse too, so i'm curious what others would consider "more expansive and diverse than any you have seen".
COMMENT | Land of the Lost Horizon posted by : rando 1/19/2009 4:56:21 PM
Here's a brief breakdown of my collection:
1. Comprehensive in classic rock and metal -- every studio cd by Sabbath, Priest, Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Hendrix, AC/DC, Nazareth, Foghat, Nugent, Pat Travers, Frank Marino, Budgie, Yes, Motorhead, April Wine, Kansas, Boston, Skynyrd, Blackfoot, Triumph, Whitesnake, etc., etc. -- almost every cd by every band ever played on rock radio in the late seventies and early eighties.
2. A good mix of lighter rock: most of the albums by Santana, Clapton, The Who, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Elton John, any many, many other bands.
3. A lot of classic guitar hero stuff (and I don't mean the game); almost everything by Trower, Dudek, Rory Gallagher, Alvin Lee, Snowy White, Wishbone Ash, etc., etc.
4. A lot of hair metal: most every eighties rock albums by big bands and obscure bands (excepting Poison and a few other bands that I never liked).
5. A lot of eighties metal: almost everything by Metallica, Megadeth, Corrosion of Conformity, Anthrax, Annihilator, Pantera, Ozzy, etc., etc.
6. Anything even vaguely associated with NWoBHM: Maiden, Riot, Saxon -- and other bands from the early eighties such as The Angels (Angel City), TNT, Y&T.
7. Early seventies rock: Golden Earring, Mountain, Alice Cooper, Rick Derringer, etc.
8. Comprehensive in classic AOR: everything by Steve Miller, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Journey, Survivor, Eddie Money, ELO, and many, many other bands.
9. about 100 classic funk albums: Funkadelic, AWB, early Commodores, Rick James, Tower of Power, Stevie Wonder, Rare Earth, etc., along with many great funk compilations.
10. Funk-metal: Chili Peppers, Fishbone, Dan Reed, 24-7 Spyz, etc.
11. Hundreds of guitar-oriented alternative cds: everything by Collective Soul, Dada, Del Amitri, The Alarm, The Fixx, etc., as well as countless bands that most people have never heard.
12. Guitar-oriented pop: Everything by Steely Dan, ARS, Dire Straits, Little Feat, Boz Scaggs, and many others.
13. Faster-paced blues: a lot by Tom Principato, Robert Cray, Tinsley Ellis, Albert King, Chris Duarte, Stevie Ray, Lucky Peterson, Jeff healey, Jimmy Thackery, etc.
14. A lot by a mixed handful of female singers: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bonnie Raitt, Melissa Etheridge, Jann Arden, Sara McLachlan, Allannah Myles, Sass Jordan, Linda Rondstadt, and several others.
15. A lot of Jazz fusion -- most everything by Stanley Clarke, Return to Forever, Weather Report, Al Dimeola, John McLaughlin, and other artists like that.
16. A lot of other instrumental cds, ranging from Josh Redman and Earl Klugh to Satriani and Tony McAlpine.
17. A lot of compilations of seventies pop hits (at least fifty cds).
18. A smattering of classical by a select few composers: Mozart, Hayden, Tchaikovsky.
19. HERE WE GO -- the stuff that's gonna get me ridiculed: not one but TWO cds by ABBA (including the one with Dancing Queen), Gary Wright "Dream Weaver", Carole King, James Taylor, Norah Jones, John Mayer, Macie Gray, and yes, I do own ONE Billy Joel album -- The Stranger. I'm Sure there's a lot more in there that could be easily ridiculed, but it's not coming to mind right now.
No rap (other than Salt n Pepa and a couple others), no opera, not much "extreme" metal, almost no modern alternative, and very little country. Other than that, I think I've got everything pretty-well covered. In general, the common thread in my collection, I think, is that I like string instruments and strong voices. If Billy Joel's songs were more guitar-oriented, I would probably like him. That's not the case, though. As for Springsteen, I've never been able to tolerate his voice, although I always wished that I liked him more because of his legendary concerts.
I'd be interested in hearing about anything major that you think I'm missing (other than the infamous trio I mentioned above). Cheers!
Billy Joel fucking rocks. "The Stranger" is the shit!
COMMENT | omen posted by : laggerlugger 1/19/2009 5:49:03 PM
this man crush you have on me is getting scary.look I gave your shitty band a chance and they like you fail miserably!I like my music to have melody and you don't,well to bad for you loser!just because you believe writing music that people like and sells is wrong doesn't mean it is!it's a good thing you weren't around when the beatles and stones started or you would have hated them to,since you know they wrote music that everyone liked that would make them sell outs in your book right?and no despite what you say you shitty bands could not wrie a hit single or a song the average person would like if thier life depended on it!
COMMENT | rando posted by : Land of the Lost Horizon 1/19/2009 7:11:47 PM
very impressive list. at least you have the balls to lsit all the different styles you are into. sounds like your collection is definitely bigger than mine, although i've got many albums by bands you listed. while i'm not into the funk, alternative, jazz or classical, it sounds like we like a lot of the same taste in bands, especially the classic rock.
your taste in blues is pretty good too. i'm a big fan of jeff healey (rip) and i've seen both chris duarte and robert cray. some of the other non metal bands i like that you listed: blackfoot (saw them this past summer) dire straits (mark knopfler is the best guitarist i've ever seen or heard imo), the eagles (saw them this past fall), fleetwood mac (love stevie nicks) and several others.
you even listed some country in there, which i'll admit i like also. i've seen and met roseanne cash, seen wynonna judd, trisha yearwood, tim mcgraw @ the harley 100th, some alt-country bands like the bastard sons of johnny cash, kathleen edwards and chris knight. that's probably the stuff that'll get me ridiculed, but who gives a shit? never going to meet anyone on here anyway.
again, thanks for not chickening out on this. too many people think you have to eat, drink and piss metal if you want to post on this site. the reality is, most of these metal bands were influenced by the same stuff these people make fun of. oh well. their loss.
COMMENT | wow posted by : sabbath39 1/19/2009 7:16:03 PM
I just saw a you tube video of Barry Mannilow covering Cannibal Corpse. Too weird...
COMMENT | posted by : SLAYTANIC WAR RABBIT 1/19/2009 8:48:37 PM
COMMENT | LET ME JUST SAY.... posted by : SLAYTANIC WAR RABBIT 7/20/2008 11:41:39 PM
HAVING BEEN A KID IN THE 70'S. BILLY JOEL'S MUSIC WAS EVERYWHERE. SOME OF HIS SONGS TAKE ME TO A PLACE OF INNOCENCE AND HAPPINESS. I WILL ALWAYS LOVE AND RESPECT HIM FOR THAT. SAY WHAT YOU WILL. THE MAN IS A LEGEND.
PERIOD.
ENOUGH SAID!!!!
COMMENT | posted by : alwaysmetal 1/19/2009 11:25:40 PM
Good to see that at least some people on here can listent to a variety of different styles of music and enjoy it.
I have seen billy joel several times. including last march and everytime he comes through he put on a great show.
While metal and rock are my favorite kinds of music I am not afraid to admit to liking johnny cash bruce springtseen or billy joel even the occastional neil diamond song. along with with all forms of metal.
Different music for different moods nothing wrong with that.
COMMENT | posted by : Beerzerk 1/20/2009 1:12:08 AM
I gotta see the Elton John and Billy Joel tour!!!
COMMENT | Land of the Lost Horizon posted by : rando 1/20/2009 3:10:03 AM
Wow, it sounds like you go to a lot of shows seeking out good bands. That's something we definitely have in common. In case you haven't seen them already, I have a couple of bands to suggest. First of all, see Clutch. It is impossible to classify them, because they're a mix of rock, hardcore, alternative, and blues, but they are a phenomenal live band that every rock fan should see. Second, Gov't Mule. They're fronted by ex-Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes. They have the same great guitar licks as the Allman Bothers, but with a lot more groove and feel. They play for several hours and usually have a guest artist jam with them. Pretty much a sure thing for a superb concert experience. Thirdly, on the country front, I highly recommend Jo Dee Messina. My wife dragged me to a show by her last summer, and I thought she was great -- very energetic and very much into the audience, like the great rock performers that you seem to enjoy.
Hopefully, 2009 will be a great concert year for both of us!
COMMENT | Land of the Lost Horizon posted by : rando 1/20/2009 3:19:54 AM
One more thing, since it seems like we have the same taste in blues artists, I highly recommend Tom Principato. He's just some jewish dude from New Jersey or Maryland or somewhere out East, but he is a SMOKING guitar player. Get on Amazon and look for the cd called "Tip of the Iceberg" -- and DEFINITELY see his band if you ever get the chance.
COMMENT | Land of the Lost Horizon posted by : rando 1/20/2009 3:32:35 AM
Also -- you got me started now -- you have to get some stuff by Rory Gallagher. He is by far the best blues guitarist to ever live, in my opinion -- and one of the greatest Irish artists in history. Try Stage Struck for a great introduction. Other phenomenal cds by him are Against the Grain, Calling Card, Photo Finish, and Top Priority. Get any of those cds and I promise you won't be disappointed.
COMMENT | rando posted by : Land of the Lost Horizon 1/20/2009 9:29:33 AM
thanks for the suggestions. i will definitely check into those artists/bands. i have seen clutch, and they were unbelievable. the opening band couldn't make it, so they did a double set.
you are right about me going to a lot of shows. i've spent way too much money over the years, but it's been well worth it. i've seen everyone from danzig, to neil diamond, to patty loveless. living in milwaukee is nice because we have summerfest. we get a lot of good shows here just because of that.
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