Being the Billy Joel Beat

A Matter of Trust Was Essential

Some years ago Caroline Miller, a much-loved Newsday arts editor, left the paper to continue the journey that would lead her to becoming editor of New York magazine. At a party organized by those who worked with her, she was given a farewell t-shirt. The t-shirt had the newspaper's font and logo, a replica of the fish-shaped map of Long Island, and a slight variation on the paper's slogan: It read "Newsday: The Billy Joel Newspaper."

Covering Billy Joel was of no small importance for Newsday, and for me, as the paper's pop music critic from 1975-1995. Whenever Billy Joel sneezed, Newsday caught pneumonia. He was Long Island’s biggest homegrown star, and a major community booster. And for the first 10 years, until the arts staff assigned and hired some reinforcements, it was me and Billy the Kid. Every concert tour, every album release, every interview: it was all my beat.

I understood from day one that this would have to be a carefully calibrated relationship. Long Island and its newspa…