Billy Joel serenades ex-wife Christie Brinkley with Uptown Girl… before their daughter Alexa Ray joins him on stage for performance during Madison Square Garden residency in NYC
Billy Joel’s final performance during his long-term residency at Madison Square Garden turned out to be something of a family affair.
Not just the Piano man took the stage of ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’ on Friday, April 26 for the 147th time of his illustrious career. He also got to share the moment with his daughter Alexa Ray Joel by performing together, as reported by We weekly.
And as a reminder, the festive evening also saw the New York City native serenade his ex-wife Christie Brinkley during the point in the show where he sang his hit Uptown Girl (1983).
Although the song was initially written about his relationship with supermodel Elle Macpherson, it eventually became a story about his wife-to-be, Brinkley.
During the performance, the original ’80s supermodel could be seen swaying and dancing as her ex-husband belted out the catchy melodies and lyrics, which were ultimately shown on the huge overhead monitor, bringing an even bigger smile to the Uptown Girl . , herself.
Billy Joel, 74, serenaded his ex-wife Christie Brinkley with a version of his 1983 hit Uptown Girl, written about his wife-to-be, during his residency show at Madison Square Garden on Friday, April 26.
The New York City native initially called his song Uptown Girls, but eventually changed it to just about Brinkley after meeting her in 1983; the former couple is seen in late 1983, not long after they started dating
Joel, 74, had originally named the song Uptown Girls, which was conceived during an occasion when he was surrounded by his then-girlfriend Macpherson, Brinkley and Whitney Houston.
In 2010, Joel revealed it Howard Stern that he decided to make changes to the tune and made it specifically about Brinkley and renamed it Uptown Girl after he stopped dating fellow top model Elle Macpherson.
“Instead of it being all these different girls, she became the Uptown Girl. I started writing it about one person,” he explained during the interview.
The lyrics of the tune, from his ninth studio album An Innocent Man (1983), describe a working-class man trying to woo a rich girl from the city.
Brinkley, 70, was even brought in to appear in the music video that features Joel and his backup singers working as a car mechanic. The cover girl arrives in a chauffeured Rolls-Royce while Joel and the mechanics dance with her through the garage.
A poster of Brinkley can be seen in the garage of the video and on a billboard above the garage advertising ‘Uptown Cosmetics’.
The music video has a storybook ending, with Joel riding away with Brinkley on a motorcycle.
Uptown Girl peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks in the last two months of 1983. It also reached number one in the United Kingdom for five weeks, his only number one hit in the country.
After writing about the ’80s supermodel, Joel had Brinkley star in the music video for Uptown Girl,
“Instead of it being all these different girls, she became the Uptown Girl. I started writing it about one person,” Joel explained to Howard Stern in 2010
The music video features Joel and his backup singers working as a car mechanic, and Brinkley as the beloved girl from town who drives to the garage in a Rolls-Royce.
The song, inspired by the 1950s sound of Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons, was the second best-selling single of 1983 in Britain, behind only Culture Club’s Karma Chameleon.
In his real life, Joel married Brinkley in March 1985, about a year and a half after the release of Uptown Girl, less than two years after meeting on the island of St. Barts in the Caribbean. .
They would welcome their daughter nine months after their wedding, but they eventually divorced in 1994.
Alexa Ray, now 38, stood on stage with her father and sang two songs: To Sir, With Love (1967), the theme song from the drama film of the same name, and Say Goodbye To Hollywood, from her father’s film. fourth album Turnstiles (1976).
Joel’s show at MSG on Friday also featured an appearance by the proud dad with his daughter Alexa Ray, 38, who she shares with Brinkley
While the Piano Man hit the keys, his daughter sang the songs To Sir, With Love (1967), the theme song of the drama film of the same name, and Say Goodbye To Hollywood, from her father’s fourth album Turnstiles (1976)
Father and daughter shared a sweet moment at the end of their performance together
Billy Joel began his MSG residency with one show per month, indefinitely, and will now end the decade-long run in July, which will mark his 104th appearance on the series, and his 150th show at the famed venue during his lifetime.
Billy Joel is currently winding down his MSG residency, which began in January 2014, when he committed to playing one concert per month at the famed arena indefinitely.
But then the six-time Grammy winner announced in June 2023 that the residency’s run would end in July 2024 with his 104th performance on the series, marking his 150th show at MSG in his lifetime.
With Friday being his 147th show at the famed venue, that means there are only three concerts left for Joel and his Madison Square Garden residency.
At the beginning of the series ten years ago, Joel says he was making about $2 million per show Parade. But that figure has since risen to about $3 million per show.