Billy Joel is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Born in New York City’s The Bronx and raised in Long Island, he is one of the most successful artists in pop music history, having sold over 160 million albums worldwide. Following his 1973 breakthrough album Piano Man, his career exploded with 1977's The Stranger and his first No. 1 album 52nd Street in 1978, for which he received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. While those albums were centered around piano, horns, and narrative lyrics, Joel took a turn towards more contemporary guitar-based music on Glass Houses in 1980, then tapped into the doo-wop sounds of his youth for An Innocent Man in 1983.