It was the end of an era when Billy Joel played his last note of his 10 year residency at a sold out Madison Square Garden on Thursday, July 25. The show not only marked the last of Joel's 10-year-long residency at the World's Most Famous Arena, but also the 150th lifetime performance, which is a record for any artist at the iconic venue.
It turned out to be a family affair for the singer as his daughters were brought out on stage by family friend Jimmy Fallon to help unveil a banner honoring him for his history-making show. Joel had the honor of sitting behind the piano as his eight-year-old Della belted out vocals and danced, all the while her dad flashed a proud smile on his face.
His six-year-old daughter, Remy, got a up-close look at the performance while sitting on the end of her father's piano, who just happened to be dressed identically as her older sister in a colorful burgundy minidress. After opening the show with Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway), Fallon came out when for the banner revealing by the time they got to the fifth song Vienna.
But the crowd would get an unscripted gem when his young daughters were sitting on the piano for the next song, My Life. Early on in the performance, Della hopped off and walked to over to ask her father something, all while he's singing and playing piano.
From that point, the little singer-in-the-making stood in front of the rotating piano and could be seen mouthing the words of the song, while keeping beat by clapping her hands and tapping one of both of her feet. The live audience could be heard cheering her on in various videos posted on YouTube.
Billy shares his daughters with his fourth wife Alexis Roderick (pictured together), 42, whom he married in 2015. He also has another daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, 36, who he shares with ex-wife Christie Brinkley, 70. The evening consisted of Joel belting out hit after hit that includes the likes of Pressure, Allentown, Only The Good Die Young, Piano Man, Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, It's Still Rock And Roll To Me, and Big Shot, among many others.
He also brought out Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose for a cover of Paul McCartney And Wings' classic Live And Let Die, as well as You May Be Right. The history-making residency began back in January 2014, with Joel playing one show a month at MSG. Over the years he has welcomed such stars as Sting, John Mellencamp, Elvis Costello, Tony Bennett, Paul Simon and John Fogerty, along with recent hitmakers such as John Mayer, Miley Cyrus, Gavin DeGraw and Olivia Rodrigo.
Fans from as far away as Australia came to New York City to see the final show of the residency, according to WPIX New York. Afterwards, the backstage area turned out to be a who's who of celebrities and high-profile people before and after the show, which included former U.S. President Bill Clinton (pictured together), former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, actor and comedian Paul Rudd, and New England Patriots owner and CEO Robert Kraft, among others.
In a sign of respect, New York City Mayor Eric Adams presented Joel with the key to the city of New York backstage before the final residency performance.
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