Alexa Ray Joel

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Alexa Ray Joel


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Background = solo_singer
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Born = birth date and age|1985|12|29cite news |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | title=Joel and his `uptown girl' have a girl |date=1985-12-31 |page=A3 |quote=Model Christie Brinkley has given her husband - singer-songwriter Billy Joel - something new to sing about, a 6 1/2-pound daughter, a spokesman for the family said Monday.] [cite news |work=Los Angeles Times |title=Brinkley, Joel Parents of `Uptown Girl' |date=1985-12-30 |page=2 |quote=The 6 1/2-pound girl, as yet unnamed, was born in a Manhattan hospital at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday, said the spokeswoman, Geraldine McInerney.]
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Instrument = Singing, piano
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URL = http://www.alexarayjoel.com/
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Alexa Ray Joel (born December 29, 1985) is an American singer and pianist. She is the daughter of popular pianist, singer, and songwriter Billy Joel and his second wife, model Christie Brinkley. Her middle name is in honor of musician Ray Charles.fact|date=July 2008

Alexa Ray Joel began writing songs at a very early age. Growing up in a musical household, she developed a gift for singing and songwriting and was always encouraged by her parents. Her deep love of music stems from as early as the tender age of two, when her father would sing and play nursery rhymes for her on the piano. Like her father, she pursued classical piano training for quite a few years before developing a knack for songwriting. She would soon find that her skills in classical piano provided a solid foundation for her songwriting.

At 17, she attended the Berklee College of Music's Five Week Music-Fest, where she honed her skills as a performer. She attended New York University's (NYU) Musical Theatre Program her freshman year, but by the summer started to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter.

By that fall, Alexa performed her first show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey, followed by other gigs in the New York City area. She has most recently been performing at colleges and venues around the Northeast United States, and finished up a nationwide Hard Rock Cafe Tour in May 2006.

After playing nearly 100 shows since leaving NYU’s Musical theatre program, Alexa put out her first musical creation in August 2006--a six song EP called "Sketches". [cite news |work=People magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,26334,1542997,00.html |title=Alexa Ray Joel a Strikes Chord of Her Own |date=2006-10-08] This EP not only included her original songs with piano accompaniment but some original artwork as well. The EP is available through Target and iTunes. Alexa is the very first independent artist to ever have exclusive rights through Target to distribute an EP.

In her appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live", Alexa stated that the ballad "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)," found on her father Billy Joel's album "River of Dreams", was written for her, and is her favorite song of his.Fact|date=March 2007. The song "The Downeaster Alexa," on Billy Joel's "Storm Front" album, shares her name. Alexa wrote the song “Now It's Gone” about her mom’s split from Peter Cook after the allegations of his infidelity.

According to her MySpace page, Alexa used to describe her musical style as pop/soul/blues. However, that is not completely accurate anymore since she has since written songs that have fallen into the category of jazz and funk—she has even written one country song.

She is only 4 years younger than stepmother Katie Lee Joel.

Notable media appearances

*16 August 2006: "Ron and Fez Show" on XM Satellite Radio
*8 September 2006 "The Today Show" Segment: The Rapp Report
*10 May 2007: "Jimmy Kimmel Live"

References

External links

* [http://www.alexarayjoel.com/ Official website]
* [http://amiestreet.com/alexarayjoel Alexa Ray Joel on Amie Street]
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* [http://www.myspace.com/alexarayjoel Alexa Ray Joel on MySpace]
* [http://www.bonnaroo.com/alexa-ray-joel Bonnaroo music festival page on Alexa Ray Joel]