Description
The first compact disc was released in the United States; it was a German-made reissue of Billy Joel’s 1978 album “52nd Street”.
Related events
- Billy Joel released his ninth studio album "An Innocent Man". The album reached No. 4 in the U.S. and contained three Billboard Top 10 singles: "Tell Her About It" at No. 1, "Uptown Girl" at No. 3 and "An Innocent Man" at No. 10. It was later certified eight-times platinum.
- Billy Joel fired his manager and former brother-in-law Frank Weber after an audit uncovered serious financial irregularities, substantial depletion of his accounts and a $5 million debt to the US Internal Revenue Service. The following September, he sued Weber for $90 million, accusing him of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and extortion under federal law. A few days after the lawsuit was filed, Weber declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect his remaining assets. The legal dispute eventually ended in an out-of-court settlement, and Joel recovered only part of the lost funds, approximately $8 million. Frank Weber was never criminally prosecuted or imprisoned.
- Billy Joel's version of Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" reached No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song came from the soundtrack to the film "Honeymoon in Vegas" and became the lowest-charting single of his career.
- Billy Joel’s version of Elvis’s song “All Shook Up” reached No. 92 on the US singles chart. The song came from the soundtrack to the film “Honeymoon in Vegas”.
- Billy Joel released “River of Dreams,” his final album of pop songs.
- Billy Joel began a three-week run at No. 1 on the US album chart with his twelfth studio album “River of Dreams”. Joel said that most of the music for the album came to him in his sleep, inspiring its title. The album eventually sold more than four million copies in the United States. The album cover was painted by his second wife, former model Christie Brinkley, and was later voted the worst album cover of the year.
- At the premiere of The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS, Billy Joel became the first musical guest. The show was broadcast from the newly renovated Ed Sullivan Theater in New York. Joel performed with Paul Shaffer and the newly named CBS Orchestra, playing “No Man's Land”.
- A New York judge officially ended Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley's nine-year marriage. Despite the separation, they remained lifelong friends, and Joel continued to perform the song “Uptown Girl” in concert, which Brinkley had inspired.
- Billy Joel, then 55, married 23-year-old culinary student Katie Lee on October 2 at his estate on Centre Island in New York. It was Joel's third marriage. During their marriage, Katie Lee became a writer and television personality. The couple later announced their separation in June 2009, with one record specifying June 17, 2009.
- Billy Joel sang “Uptown Girl” to his former wife Christie Brinkley during a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.