52nd Street: The Music of Billy Joel at Bally's Quad Cities -- September 10.
Saturday, September 10, 7 p.m.
Bally's Quad Cities, 777 Bally Boulevard, Rock Island IL
Celebrations of two of the most iconic and influential pop and rock stars in world history will take place in the same shared concert event on September 10, with Ball's Quad Cities housing timeless tunes with the touring artists of 52nd Street: The Music of Billy Joel and Captain Fantastic: A Tribute to Elton John.
Born in the Bronx in 1949, Billy Joel took part in two short-lived bands, The Hassles and Attila, before signing a record deal with Family Productions and kicking off a solo career in 1971 with his first release Cold Spring Harbor. The following year, Joel captured the attention of Columbia Records after a live radio performance of the song “Captain Jack” became popular in Philadelphia, prompting him to sign a new record deal with the company and release his second album, Piano Man, in 1973. After Streetlife Serenade and Turnstiles in 1974 and 1976, respectively, Joel released his critical and commercial breakthrough in 1977's The Stranger. The album became Columbia's best-selling release, sold more than 10 million copies, and spawned numerous hit singles including "Just the Way You Are." "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," "Only the Good Die Young," "She's Always a Woman," and "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," a number that Joel has called his personal favorite among his own songs.
Over the course of his solo career, Joel produced 33 top-40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote himself, and three of which – "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," "Tell Her About It," and "We Didn't Start the Fire" – peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Joel has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards, winning five of them including Album of the Year for 52nd Street, and he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. A Broadway jukebox musical of his repertoire, Movin' Out, earned the artist and Stuart Malina 2003 Tony Awards for the show's orchestrations, and a decade later, Joel received a Kennedy Center Honors citation for influencing American culture through the arts.
Elton John is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 300 million records worldwide in a six-decade career in music. He has more than 50 top-40 hits in the U.K. Singles Chart and U.S. Billboard Hot 100, including nine number ones in the U.K. and U.S., as well as seven consecutive number-one albums in the U.S. His 1973 double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and his 1974 Greatest Hits compilation album are among the best-selling albums worldwide. John's tribute single "Candle in the Wind 1997," a rewritten version of his 1974 single in dedication to Diana, Princess of Wales, sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling chart single of all time. In 2019, John was ranked by Billboard as the top solo artist in U.S. chart history (third overall), and the top Adult Contemporary artist of all time. Two years later, John became the first solo artist with U.K. top-10 singles across six decades.
During his remarkable career, John has received five Grammy Awards; five Brit Awards, including for Outstanding Contribution to Music; two Academy Awards; two Golden Globes; a Tony Award; a Laurence Olivier Award; a Disney Legends Award; and the Kennedy Center Honor. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him 49th on its list of 100 influential musicians of the rock-and-roll era. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and is a fellow of The Ivors Academy. John was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music and charitable services in 1998, while French President Emmanuel Macron presented John with France's highest civilian award, the Legion d'honneur, in 2019, calling John a "melodic genius" and praising his work on behalf of the LGBT community.
The co-headlining concert with the talents of 52nd Street: The Music of Billy Joel and Captain Fantastic: A Tribute to Elton John takes place on September 10, admission to the 7 p.m. event begins at $10, and more information and tickets are available by 756-4600 and visiting Casino.Ballys.com.
