Billy Joel set a record especially relevant in his hometown as he played his record 65th concert at Madison Square Garden, trumping the previous mark set by his pal and fellow "piano man" Elton John.
"I didn't know I'd be here 65 times, amazing...I want to thank you very much for making this possible," he said. "I really believed a long time ago if I didn't have a record every year on the charts, it would just go away. People would stop coming. It's amazing—I haven't had a record on the charts in 22 years."
It's not as if Joel and the management at Madison Square Garden weren't aware until Billboard went digging through its archives. A banner was raised above the stage declaring the accomplishment to the crowd. It seems that Joel was being sincere when he dedicated a performance of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" to the former record holder. Of course, it could have been a friendly jab as well.
"He's a good man and a good friend and I'd like to dedicate this song to him," Joel said.
Fans are familiar with both men's camaraderie and familiarity with the New York City area. The pair have gone on multiple tours together, and the pair played three of their respective Madison Square Garden shows as part of the "Face 2 Face" tour during 2002.
Joel more-or-less assured that he would grab the record from John during 2015 however when he announced his career plans during 2013. The performer declared that he would be playing Madison Square Garden once-a-month for the foreseeable future. That's added 19 performances to his total thus far...and we're sure he'll continue to add to that total. After all, every performance has sold out thus far and, much like Las Vegas residencies, there always seems to be a fresh audience ready to check Joel out live.
If you consider that Joel sold out a dozen shows in any given 12-month period between 2014-'15, and the New York Knicks only won 10 games at home, it could be argued that Joel "won" more "games" at MSG last season.
