“Sometimes it’s alien to me — this guy, Billy Joel”
HBO has released the official trailer for Billy Joel: And So It Goes, a sprawling two-part documentary that sets out to unpack the life, music, and contradictions of one of America’s most iconic musicians and songwriters. Clocking in at a total of five hours, the two-parter promises a deeply personal portrait of Joel—one he seems only partly comfortable with.
More on Screen Realm:
“Sometimes it’s alien to me, this guy Billy Joel,” he says early in the trailer. “I don’t know who that is or what that is. I’m reminded of it when I go walk on the street. Oh, right, I’m that guy.”
From there, the trailer weaves together archival footage, home recordings, personal photos, and intimate interviews. Joel talks through his early days in Hicksville, New York, his estranged relationship with his father, and the surprise of becoming a global superstar. “Here I am dating this supermodel, me? I’m from Hicksville,” he says, recalling his relationship with Christie Brinkley.
The music, the trauma, and the through-line
At the core of the documentary is a reflection on how Joel’s life—its joys, trials, and traumas—has been poured into his songwriting. “If there’s a skeleton key to unlocking what’s behind the songs, it’s my relationships with others,” he says. “Everything I’ve done and everything I’ve lived through has somehow found its way into my music.”
One such influence: his early exposure to classical music. “My own history with me as a musician started with me hearing classical music,” he says. “‘Uptown Girl’ — it could’ve been a Mozart piece,” he adds, sitting at the piano as he plays the familiar chords.
Joel also opens up about the darker parts of his past. “I didn’t know my father at all from eight years old until I was in my 20s,” he says. “I’ve had a lot of hard lessons in my life.” Later in the trailer, he adds, “I’ve learned that life is a fight,” and perhaps most revealingly, “I think music saved my life. It gave me a reason to live.”
Famous voices weigh in
The doc doesn’t just rely on Joel to tell the story. The trailer features appearances by artists and friends including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, and Pink. “Billy’s melodies are better than mine,” Springsteen admits. McCartney recalls his first time hearing Joel: “When I first heard Billy Joel, it was like, wait a minute. ‘Who’s this?’” Pink praises Joel’s emotional reach, saying, “He cares about the human experience… he wrote songs that mattered.”
Directed by Susan Lacy (Jane Fonda in Five Acts, Spielberg) and produced by Jessica Levin, Billy Joel: And So It Goes also includes interviews with Jon Small, Joel’s ex-wives Christie Brinkley, Elizabeth Weber, and Katie Lee, his daughter Alexa Ray Joel, current wife Alexis Roderick Joel, and several longtime band members.
When and where to watch Billy Joel: And So It Goes
Billy Joel: And So It Goes premieres on July 18 on HBO Max, with part two on July 25.
