Behind the Billy Joel Archives with Dr Carl Woodin

This week on The Musicgasm, Harvey was joined by special guest Dr. Carl Woodin, a multimedia producer and lifelong Billy Joel fan from Philadelphia.

Carl’s name may already ring a bell for fans of The Piano Man — he worked alongside Joel’s team to build Billy’s first official website and has since become something of an archivist for the star’s memorabilia and history.

Carl’s connection with Billy Joel began in the early seventies, when an opening act at a Doobie Brothers concert changed his life.

That night in Philadelphia sparked a lifelong passion that grew into friendships with members of Billy’s original band, including drummer Rhys Clark, and with the late legendary DJ Ed Sciaky, who helped launch Joel’s career on WMMR Radio.

Fast forward a few decades, and Carl found himself immersed in the world of multimedia, pitching and creating an interactive CD-ROM masterclass project with Billy Joel himself — long before the days of YouTube and streaming.

That early work led to him running Billy’s official website and contributing to well-known projects such as VH-1’s Behind the Music.

During the programme, Carl and Harvey talked about those memorable years, Carl’s ongoing work with Billy’s longtime keyboard player David Rosenthal, and his friendship with Elio Pace, whose acclaimed Billy Joel Songbook shows have wowed audiences worldwide.

Carl recently attended Elio’s London Palladium concert with Rhys Clark and shared some of those moments – captured in the photos on this page.

Listen again here for Carl’s stories of music, friendship and fandom — from backstage moments to rare recordings – and even a lost Billy Joel demo which has recently come to light.