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William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man", he has been making music since the 1960s. For Disney, he made his acting debut as the voice of Dodger in the 1988 Disney animated feature film Oliver & Company, where he also contributed to and recorded the song "Why Should I Worry". He also sang "When You Wish Upon a Star" in Simply Mad About the Mouse.

Born in the Bronx section of New York City, Joel grew up on Long Island, where both places influenced his music with his mother insisting he take piano lessons. Joel attended Hicksville High School until 1967, but did not graduate with his class and began playing at bars to support himself. In 1971, he signed a record deal with Columbia Records and kicked off a solo career in 1971 with his first album Cold Spring Harbor. However, his second album Piano Man containing the titular song became his most recognized hit. Over the next two decades, Joel continued to release more hit songs, such as "Just the Way You Are", "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)", "Only the Good Die Young", "My Life", "She's Always a Woman", "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", "You May Be Right", "Don't Ask Me Why", "Tell Her About It", "Uptown Girl", "The Longest Time", "We Didn't Start the Fire", "This is the Time", and "The River of Dreams".

Despite retiring from writing and releasing new music following the release of River of Dreams, he continues to go on tour; he frequently performs at Madison Square Garden. His career earned him several Grammy wins, honorary doctorates, and inductions into various Halls of Fame, such as the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999).

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  • Critics were generally positive toward Oliver & Company and pointed to Joel's acting contribution as one of its highlights, despite it being his first acting job (the only other acting Joel has done is guest-starring as himself in multiple TV sitcoms, such as Mad About You and Kevin Can Wait). In interviews, Joel explained that he took the role of Dodger, due to his love of Disney cartoons as a child.

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