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Billy Joel is reflecting on his unprecedented run at one of the world’s most iconic performance venues.
In an exclusive clip shared with PEOPLE from part 2 of the HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, premiering on Friday, the legendary singer-songwriter, 76, looks back on his first Madison Square Garden performance and his subsequent 10-year residency at the famed venue from 2014 to 2024.
“The first time I played the Garden was 1978,” Joel says in the clip, as a photograph from his early performing days appears alongside recent footage of him performing “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” to a roaring, sold-out crowd. “Now, almost 40 years later, it felt like I had come full circle.”
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Joel, who holds the record for the most performances at Madison Square Garden, largely credits his success and the memories tied to the venue to his band, whom he considers his “extended family.” “I’m playing with these guys who I’ve been with for years and years,” he says, accompanied by photos and videos of saxophonist Mark Rivera, guitarist Tommy Byrnes, multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero and keyboardist Dave Rosenthal, who have all been playing with the singer for decades.
He adds, “They really are my extended family. And we were like the house band at Madison Square Garden — maybe the best-known venue in the world for rock and roll. This is a dream come true.”
Throughout his 150 shows at the Garden, Joel noticed a shift in the makeup of the crowds. “New generations of people were the ones filling out the audience,” he reflects, as footage shows younger adults and kids singing along. “I was seeing that every night, and they were making a lot of noise.”
The magic of Joel’s MSG performances, says his longtime friend and Eagles frontman Don Henley, was their power to unite people. “They love to sing his songs,” he says in an interview, seen in the clip, “and that’s what it’s all about is that collective experience of people coming together.”
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In May, the “Piano Man” singer cancelled all upcoming tour dates — including stops in New York City, New Orleans, Toronto, Santa Clara, Salt Lake City, Washington, D.C. and Liverpool — after being diagnosed with a treatable brain condition called normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Despite the cancellations, he tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story that he is doing well and he’s not even thinking about retirement.
“I know a lot of people are worried about me and my health, but I’m okay,” he says. “What I have is something very few people know about, including me, no matter how much you try to research it. I’m doing my best to work with it and to recover from it.”
On Wednesday, June 4, the first half of And So It Goes premiered at the Tribeca Festival in New York City, ahead of its HBO Max premiere on July 18. Part 2 will premiere on Friday, July 25, at 8:00 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
