Thursday’s show was Joel’s 64th consecutive sell-out at the Garden, a continuation of the record-setting residency he launched in December 2013 (in collaboration with longtime agent, Dennis Arfa, chairman of Artists Group International). The Garden has already announced the 70th show in the residency for Nov. 15. It will be Joel’s 116th all-time performance at the arena. New York fans — particularly those from Joel’s native Long Island — have a special bond with the artist. “Youse guys!” joked Joel. But the Garden shows are only part of his onstage achievements. In January, Joel announced his sixth consecutive year of stadium shows, including a concert June 22 at Wembley Stadium in London. According to Billboard Boxscore — a chart Joel continues to climb — during 2018, he grossed $70.2 million in ticket sales, playing for 589,813 fans at 24 shows. Joel offered no monologues about his birthday milestone. But from the show-opening, self-deprecating blast of “Big Shot” to the finale of “You May Be Right,” the songs offered a career’s worth of reflection in nonstop hits and choice album tracks. Yet this was no oldies show. Joel and his band played with a intensity, vitality and joy that rival any act decades younger, with exceptional lighting and video production. His finely sketched characters — Brenda and Eddie (“Scenes From An Italian Restaurant”), Anthony (“Movin’ Out”) and Davy, who’s still in the Navy (“Piano Man”) — are longtime friends. And these songs are very much alive in the hearts of Joel’s devoted fans. (It’s worth noting that the Garden audience included many younger fans who weren’t yet born when these songs were new). And what would a birthday party be without best wishes from friends? Throughout the show, video greetings played above the stage from P!nk (singing “Just The Way You Are”), Brian Johnson of AC/DC, Garth Brooks (“You are the only guy on the planet who gains momentum as he grows older”), Don Henley and Paul McCartney. “We love you,” said McCartney. “Happy birthday, Bill.” Guest artists have become a staple of the Garden concerts. On Thursday, Peter Frampton came out to play “Show Me The Way” and “Baby, I Love Your Way," backed by Joel on piano. Frampton recalled a night, exactly 42 years earlier, when he and Joel met outside a New York club. “I had a limo and he didn’t,” he joked. But the evening’s most important guests were two singers who came on to serenade Joel with “Happy Birthday”— his daughters Alexa Ray, 34, and 3-year-old Della Rose. (Alexa Ray earlier dueted with her dad on “New York State of Mind.”) Another nod to the night’s milestone came as the band launched into the opening riff of “Satisfaction” and Joel briefly did his best Mick Jagger prance, before stopping to remark that the Rolling Stones’ frontman “said he didn’t want to do [`Satisfaction’] when he was 70.” (In fact, in 1975 Jagger said he didn’t want to be singing “Satisfaction” when he was 40; he’s now 75). Joel and the band instead played the Stones’ “Start Me Up” full out. Among his peer group of artists who emerged in the 70s, Joel arguably has the widest musical background and tastes. His love of classical music showed in that snippet of Beethoven’s “Ode To Joy” which opened “My Life” and the performance of Puccini's “Nessun Dorma,” sung by guitarist Michael DelGuidice, which has become a staple of his set. Declaring he needed to “warm up” his vocals for his doo-wop tribute “The Longest Time,” Joel sang the Tokens' version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “Runaround Sue” from Dion and the Belmonts. Some of the show’s best moments were performances of songs that were never hits, like “Vienna,” which Joel has called one of his favorites and “The Downeaster `Alexa’,” written in the voice of a Long Island fisherman facing the loss of his livelihood. “There ain’t no island left for Islanders like me,” he sang. (Joel’s commitment to his native Long Island is steadfast; last month his joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at a beachfront press conference for the signing of legislation banning offshore drilling in the state’s waters).<doc-sep>Click to share this via email Click to share this on Twitter Click to share this on Facebook Billy Joel celebrated his milestone 70th birthday with a New York City concert and the event was a family affair. RELATED: Billy Joel’s 3-Year-Old Daughter Joined Him Onstage Joel performed in front of a soldout crowd at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. The six-time Grammy winner celebrated his birthday backstage with his family before taking to the stage. The musician invited his eldest daughter, 33-year-old singer-songwriter Alexa Ray Joel to perform “New York State of Mind”. Eager to make the most of her time onstage, Alexa invited Joel’s 3-year-old daughter Della Rose to sing the icon “Happy Birthday.” Peter Frampton made a special guest appearance, performing a number of songs with Joel. Several birthday video messages were played on the big screen, including well-wishes from Paul McCartney, Don Henley and Brian Johnson. RELATED: Billy Joel And Wife Alexis Welcome Their Second Daughter Joel has performed a ridiculous 64 soldout events at Madison Square Garden in New York City.<doc-sep>To celebrate his milestone birthday, the legendary singer performed in his 64th-ever soldout show at the New York City venue Billy Joel has plenty of reasons to smile tonight! To celebrate his 70th birthday on Thursday, the longtime musician performed to a sold out crowd — the 64th time he’s done so — at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Get push notifications with news, features and more. It would turn out to be a memorable night for Joel, as he was honored by family and friends, both near and far, to ring in his milestone birthday at the famed venue he’s been playing a monthly residency at since January 2014. Before kicking off his performance, Joel got in some party time backstage as he was joined by wife Alexis Roderick and their daughters Della Rose, 3, and Remy Anne, 18 months. In an adorable photo, the family of four all had big smiles on their faces, as Della celebrated her dad’s big day in a party hat that read “Happy Birthday Billy!” with balloons on it — the same hats that were also handed out to the night’s crowd. Billy Joel with wife and 2 daughters Billy Joel, Alexis Roderick, Della Rose and Remy Anne | Credit: Myrna Suarez After taking the stage, a source close to Joel tells PEOPLE the “Just the Way You Are” singer was surprised with video messages from a number of fellow musicians, including Pink, Garth Brooks, Brian Johnson from AC/DC and Sir Paul McCartney. In addition to the sweet messages, the source says Joel had two familiar faces join him on stage for two performances: his adult daughter Alexa Ray, 33, and little Della. “Alexa Ray Joel performed ‘New York State of Mind’ and they brought Della Rose on stage to perform ‘Happy Birthday,'” the source says. Billy Joel Billy Joel on Thursday night | Credit: BACKGRID It wouldn’t be the first time that Joel has been joined onstage with his two daughters. The legendary singer recently brought his girls onto the Madison Square Garden stage in December to have them perform — Alexa singing a duet of the holiday classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” with her dad while Della sang with him on her favorite song of his: “Don’t Ask Me Why.” “We like to roll the family in [at Christmas],” Joel joked in the video of his daughter’s performance posted online afterward. Billy Joel In Concert - New York, NY Billy Joel and Alexa Ray Joel in December | Credit: Myrna M. Suarez/Getty Billy Joel In Concert - New York, NY Billy Joel and Della Rose | Credit: Myrna M. Suarez/Getty Following his daughters’ appearance on Thursday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo showed up on stage with his daughter Cara, 24, to wish the longtime singer and Long Island native a “Happy Birthday.” Musician Peter Frampton also later appeared to play with Joel, which he revealed would be happening earlier in the day on Twitter. “Soundcheck this afternoon at MSG with @billyjoel. So honoured to be asked to play at his 70th birthday show. Happy Birthday Billy!!! And thank you,” Frampton, 69, wrote, alongside a photo of a pair rehearsing their performance. One person who was unable to attend Joel’s birthday festivities on Thursday was his ex-wife Christie Brinkley, who made sure to send her love from afar through a sweet shoutout on Instagram. “Sending Happy Birthday Wishes to Billy,” she captioned a photo of the singer and Alexa performing together. “Remember when we used to do the videos PRETENDING to be old? Well we still can’t do that look very well lol! !” Brinkley, 65, jokingly wrote. “Rock that Garden Tonight And I’ll do my best over here on Broadway at @chicagomusical” “@alexarayjoel Sing the hell out of that birthday song ! #billys70th 📸 @myrnasuarezphoto,” the model added. Alexa also shared the same photo to her Instagram hours earlier and sent sweet birthday wishes to her father ahead of their performance. “Happy 70th Birthday To My Pops, The One N’ Only!! !🕊🔱🏹🖤👑🔮🕯⚜️Who’s coming to tonight’s Garden Show?! We’ve got lots of surprises in store for you…🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹” she wrote. Speaking to Rolling Stone recently ahead of his milestone birthday, Joel revealed how turning 70 came with a lot of thoughts. “On the one hand, I’m happy to be alive,” Joel recently told the outlet. “On the other hand, I don’t know how much of a party I deserve just for making it to 70. I mean, it’s a work night — you can’t have birthday cake, you can’t do any of that stuff.”<doc-sep>Billy Joel's 110th all-time performance at Madison Square Garden was extra special as The Franchise himself was joined by family and friends backstage to celebrate a milestone birthday! Joel has been playing sold-out concerts at The World's Most Famous Arena once a month since January of 2014. His 64th consecutive monthly show also marked his 70th birthday. The evening saw the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer joined in the wings by his wife, Alexis Roderick, and their two daughters, 3-year-old Della Rose and 1-year-old Remy Anne, and a number of special guests to celebrate. On stage, Joel was surprised with video messages from a number of his contemporaries, including Pink, Garth Brooks, AC/DC front man Brian Johnson and Paul McCartney. The Piano Man was also joined on stage by his singer/songwriter daughter, 33-year-old Alexa Ray. Joel and Alexa performed "New York State of Mind" before bringing Della Rose out to help sing "Happy Birthday." Joel was honored by The Garden last summer when his piano was put permanently on display in the entryway of the arena. Earlier this month, the music icon announced his 70th consecutive MSG show, which will take place this coming November. For all Joel's tour dates, go here. Photo: Getty Images<doc-sep>
Billy Joel’s 70th birthday party at Madison Square Garden Thursday night was packed with surprises — for him and for the capacity crowd. “This is kinda a weird night,” Joel said after the crowd cheered wildly for him for spending his birthday at his concert. “What else am I gonna do?” Daughter Alexa Ray Joel joined him on “New York State of Mind” and then led the crowd, along with 3-year-old sister Della Rose and Joel’s wife, Alexis, in a chorus of “Happy Birthday.” Peter Frampton stopped in to deliver a fiery version of “Show Me the Way” with Joel and the band, complete with a talkbox solo. Frampton then gave Joel a talkbox of his own, before launching into “Baby, I Love Your Way.” But he wasn’t Joel’s only well-wisher. As fans entered the show, they were handed a “Happy Birthday Billy” party hat and a laminated Billy Joel baseball card. And throughout the show there were video messages from friends, including Pink, who sang a bit of “Just the Way You Are” and told Joel, “You are the greatest, in my eyes.” Later, Garth Brooks told him, “I think you’re the only guy who gains momentum as he gets older.” And Joel certainly did keep up the momentum, opening with “Big Shot” and “My Life.” At the April show of his residency at the Garden, Joel tried a new strategy with his set list, focusing more on his hits rather than the more obscure corners of his catalog. On Thursday night, the 64th show in his residency and his 110th appearance at the Garden in his career, he followed the same pattern, though the set was punctuated with some of his own favorites like The Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up” and Dion’s “Runaround Sue.” Joel and his eight-piece band were clearly having fun as they warmed up with bits of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “Satisfaction.” Subscribe to the Entertainment newsletter By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. It’s no wonder that Joel wants to keep performing. Joel told Newsday that he has no plans to retire any time soon — something he wouldn’t have said five or even 10 years ago. “I've become very comfortable with that concept of maybe you just don't retire,” Joel said. “Maybe it just keeps going because people want to keep seeing it. And it's a great job. I have a great band. I play great venues. And I make great money. So what's wrong with that?”