‘Piano Man’ Billy Joel is in a Long Island state of mind with new Hall of Fame exhibit

nypost.com:

hit the market with a whopping price tag of $49 million.But at a preview of his new retrospective exhibit “Billy Joel: My Life — A Piano Man’s Journey” at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, Joel hedged about movin’ out from his lavish Oyster Bay property — which is reportedly now off the market — or the LI stomping grounds where he grew up in Hicksville.“I know [you’ve heard] there’s a house for sale and on the market — that doesn’t mean I’m leaving Long Island,” Joel, 74, told the private audience on Tuesday night before the exhibit’s public opening on Friday.“This is my home; it will always be my home.

We will always have this as our home — and we’ll come and visit this place a lot.”Certainly, the LIMEHOF — which opened its museum in Stony Brook last year — will feel like home for Joel until next August.

The first-ever exhibit devoted to the Piano Man — and with his blessing — traces his journey from a Bronx-born baby who moved to the Levittown section of Hicksville when he was just 1 to the keyboard-rocking king of Madison Square Garden with a record-setting residency that is entering its final shows before ending with his 150th MSG concert in July 2024.“It’s a little overwhelming,” he said. “Have you ever found yourself surrounded by you?

It’s kind of a nightmare.”But as “intimidating” as it was for Joel to see his many achievements being celebrated — whether it was his historic shows in the former Soviet Union in 1987 or the 2008 Last Play at Shea concerts at Shea Stadium before it was demolished — even he had to be just a little bit impressed.“I guess I’ve lived,” he said in the understatement of the night.As much of a big shot as Joel has become in his six-decade career, he had always been.