- February 3, 2026
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Billy Joel may not have started the fire, but local biographical historian Susan Benjamin anticipates that her upcoming presentation with singer Jay O'Brien will ignite the audience's passion for the American icon's works.
Benjamin and O'Brien, along with conductor Robert Hanson, have been bringing their musical events to The Education Center for several years now. Last year, they highlighted the works of Paul Simon. She offers special insight into well-known musicians through stories of their lives, and O'Brien sings beloved tunes from their musical catalogue.
It was actually Benjamin's husband, Marc Benjamin, who suggested they turn their attention to Billy Joel this year.
"I wasn't sure what stories I was going to tell, and it got even harder because this fabulous two-part documentary aired on HBO," she said.
Still, Joel has such a prolific career that Benjamin was still able to uncover new, interesting stories for listeners.
The American singer, pianist and songwriter is best known for his hits "Piano Man," "Just the Way You Are," "My Life," "Uptown Girl" and "We Didn't Start the Fire."
Joel had an early introduction to the performing arts. His parents met at a Gilbert and Sullivan musical production at The City College of New York. He went on to craft some of history's most iconic anthems, backed by his classical music training.
"He would take Beethoven or Bach, and he would practice, but then he would start to syncopate, changing the rhythm and notes," Benjamin said.
He landed a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and received the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2014, among many other commendations.
While Benjamin always finds a way to connect with the musician through her extensive research into biographical books, films and other media, this presentation has a uniquely personal touch for her.
She and her husband deemed Joel's 1977 hit "Just the Way You Are" as their song. Despite some reservations from Joel, the song became his first mega-hit.
"We were on vacation and were dancing, and we heard this song for the first time," she said. "It so affected me, and I said, 'Marc, this is going to be our song.' ... It affected me, but it also affected the country and eventually the world too."
Billy Joel is an especially good fit for Benjamin and O'Brien's style of show considering how many of his works are autobiographical.
"They're about whatever was happening to him in his life at the time," she said of his songs. "They often have to do not only with the events, but the feelings surrounding them."
She added, "He had a lot going on in his early life, and his solace was music."
Asked what it is about Joel's work that so connects with listeners, she said, "I think he's really honest about the struggles he's faced in his life."
O'Brien spends most of his year in Highland Park, Illinois but has regularly visited Longboat Key for the special performances.
O'Brien said Joel also has a distinct level of musical sophistication not always found in popular music that seems to drive listeners' fascination with him.
"He has this ability to write things that are very technically complex but sound very simple," he added. "That takes a lot of skill and is something rare."
Without giving away too much before show, O'Brien said audience members should look forward to what they have planned for Joel's hit, "Uptown Girl." Benjamin said O'Brien's version of “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel),” which he sang previously at a show in Chicago, is worth seeing live.
"There were hundreds of people there, and you could have heard a pin drop," she said.
In Benjamin's other presentations this season, she is focusing on dance legends.
Last month, she detailed the legacy of Hollywood powerhouse Fred Astaire. Coming up on Feb. 20 and 27, she is leading a two-part talk on Gene Kelly of "Dancing in the Rain" fame. Then, in the spring term at The Education Center, she is turning her attention to dancers Donald O'Connor and Bob Fosse.
O'Connor, Astaire's costar in "Singing in the Rain," cemented his place in dancing history with his performance to "Make 'Em Laugh."
Fosse, winner of multiple Tony awards for his choreography skills, made a name for himself on the stage with his inventive, exaggerated style of dance. He is most widely known for his work on "Cabaret" and "Chicago."
