Alexa Ray Joel (born January 1, 1986) is a American singer and pianist. She is the daughter of popular pianist, singer, and songwriter Billy Joel by his second wife, model Christie Brinkley. She has credited her middle name to musician Ray Charles. January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A grand piano, with the lid up. ... Pianist Claudio Arrau, Carnegie Hall, 1954. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... William Martin Billy Joel (born May 9, 1949, in Bronx, New York) is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. ... Christie Brinkley, circa 1999 Christie Brinkley (born Christie Lee Hudson on February 2, 1954) is an American supermodel. ... Many peoples names include one or more middle names, placed between the first given name and the surname. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... Ray Charles was the stage name of Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004). ...

Alexa Ray Joel began writing songs at a very early age. Growing up in a musical household, her gift for singing and songwriting 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 seventeen, 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. Berklee College of Music, founded in 1945, is an independent music college in Boston, Massachusetts with many prominent faculty, staff, alumni, and visiting artists. ... New York University (NYU) is a major research university in New York City. ...

By that fall, Alexa performed her first show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey, followed by other gigs in the New York area. She has most recently been performing at colleges and venues around the northeast, and finished up a Hard Rock Cafe Tour throughout America in May 2006. Map of New Jersey highlighting Hoboken Image of Hoboken taken by NASA (red line shows where Hoboken is). ... Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of casual dining restaurants. ...

Alexa was scheduled to release her debut EP "Sketches" 29 August 2006 on her own label. August 29 is the 241st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (242nd in leap years), with 124 days remaining. ...

On 16 August 2006 Alexa appeared on the Ron and Fez show heard nationally on XM Satellite Radio. August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The Ron and Fez Show is a national satellite radio talk show hosted by Ron Bennington and Fez Marie Whatley. ... XM redirects here. ...

The ballad "Lullabye," found on Billy Joel's River of Dreams, was inspired by Alexa, and the song "The Downeaster Alexa," on her father's Storm Front album, shares her name. River of Dreams is the twelfth studio album by Billy Joel, released in 1993. ... Storm Front is the eleventh studio album by Billy Joel, released in 1989. ...

Notable TV appearances

• 09/08/06 The Today Show Segment: The Rapp Report

Today, commonly referred to as The Today Show to avoid ambiguity, is an American morning news and talk show airing weekday mornings on the NBC television network. ...

External links

• Alexa's Official Website