On Saturday, Billy Joel served as one of the performers at the Phil Ramone Music Memorial Celebration at the Salvation Army's Centennial Memorial Temple. Billy ... recalled how his career, though established with his album Piano Man, was virtually stagnating, his label submitting star producers (Jim Guercio and George Martin) who were uninterested in letting Joel record with his road-honed touring band.

Tune in to AXS TV this Saturday, May 4th to catch four songs from Billy Joel's recent performance at the New Orleans Jazz Fest! Billy headlined the show on April 27th and "held tens of thousands of visitors to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in the palm of his hand," Rolling Stone said of the concert.

Billy Joel is back after a three-year hiatus from performing. He was a consensus highlight of the 12-12-12 benefit concert in New York for victims of Hurricane Sandy. On April 21, he headlined the Stone Music Festival in Sydney, Australia. On Saturday, April 27, his only other announced show of the year, he closes the Acura Stage at the 2013 New Orleans Jazz Fest.

We spoke early Wednesday afternoon. He called from his hotel just after powerful thunderstorms rolled through town -- a storm that was a little too reminiscent of his 2008 Jazz Fest monsoon.

Billy Joel, Van Halen and Aerosmith participated in a press conference this week in advance of their performances at STONE Music Festival in Sydney, Australia this weekend. Watch the video below from WSFM for some of the questions and answers!

In December, Billy Joel performed six songs at the 12.12.12 benefit concert for Hurricane Sandy victims at Madison Square Garden, and it was kind of a big deal. At the height of his pop-star fame in the '70s and '80s -- when a string of hit albums secured him access to the figureheads of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue's gilded age (including Elle Macpherson and future ex-wife Christie Brinkley) and widespread admiration for his bold and possibly crazy pro–"riding motorcycles in the rain" stance -- Joel could regularly be seen playing for arenas full of people.