Starting in May, at one of his monthly concerts at Madison Square Garden, Billy Joel began dedicating his song "The Entertainer" to Donald Trump. Before a show this week at Boston's Fenway Park, Joel explained why to WGBH radio hosts Jim Braude and Jared Bowen. "I am an entertainer, and I'm in the entertainment business, and in my opinion, Donald Trump's political campaign has been very entertaining," he said. "Look at all the media coverage the guy is getting! Politically, do I think it holds water? But to a lot of people, I guess it does."
Joel also said that while he thinks "The Entertainer" is an apt fit for Trump, "I could have dedicated a couple of songs to him, 'You May Be Right, I May Be Crazy'... 'Big Shot,' that would work. 'I Go To Extremes'.... There are a bunch of songs." In May, Trump did not seem to mind being serenaded with a song about the empty and cynical side of selling yourself to the public:
Joel, it turns out, has met Trump before — though he said that, if invited to play at President Trump's inauguration, he "won't be anywhere near the place." Braude noted that Joel was at Trump's wedding to Melania a decade ago, and Joel explained:
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I got invited to his wedding, I don't know why. I guess he used to come see my shows at the Garden. I got invited to his wedding, and I thought, what the hell, let's go! I don't remember much, because I think I drank too much, but I don't really know him all that well. [Joel, to WGBH]
You can hear Joel discuss his job, his love of the Beatles, why he keeps on performing, and other topics at WGBH, and you can listen to his retroactive ode to Trump below. Peter Weber
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