ON THIS DAY IN 1964, A NEW YORK BAND NAMED THE ECHOES RECRUITED A YOUNG PIANO PLAYER BY THE NAME OF BILLY JOEL

Joel was still in high school and was looking for a chance to play music for a job, after seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. Joel stated that “that one performance changed my life…. Up to that moment I’d never considered playing rock as a career.

The Echoes content was largely British Invasion covers and they began recording in 1965. The group was to be short lived, and after two name changes, to The Emeralds and then The Lost Souls, and Joel left in 1967.  He immediately joined another short lived group, The Hassles, releasing two albums before separating with drummer Jon Small to form the duo Attila in 1969, the same year Joel was to graduate high school.

Billy Joel never managed to graduate, as despite being a good student, he worked late nights in a piano bar to help his mother financially, which caused him to miss a final exam. Rather than go to summer school, Joel decided to pursue music full time. Attila released its debut album in July 1970, before disbanding in October 1971. After this Billy Joel launched the solo career that he  is recognised for today, becoming extremely popular after the release of Piano Man in 1973.