Tony Mantor
16 July 2025
Steve Cohen, Emmy award-winning producer and Billy Joel's longtime creative director, guides us through the creation of HBO's powerful new documentary "Billy Joel: And So It Goes," premiering July 18th and 25th as a landmark two-part film exploring the Piano Man's extraordinary life and music. • Billy Joel initially resisted documentary proposals for years, believing "his life is in his music" until recently deciding the time was right • The project came together when filmmaker Susan Lacey (creator of PBS's American Masters series) connected with Cohen through a series of fortunate coincidences • Cohen served as executive producer while ensuring Billy maintained no editorial control to preserve the film's authenticity • Susan Lacey and co-director Jessica Levin created an unexpected connection with Billy through their shared classical music backgrounds and Holocaust survivor family histories • The documentary features 120 Billy Joel songs and reveals the personal stories and motivations behind his writing that he rarely discussed publicly • Steve Cohen is transitioning from his 50-year rock and roll touring career to focus on film and television production as his "second act" Watch "Billy Joel: And So It Goes" premiering on HBO July 18th (Part One) and July 25th (Part Two).
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