How do you pronounce Billy Joel?

[BOOTS52PollyPrissyPants]

Do you say Joel or Joe l? For years always said Joe l. My son said you have been saying it wrong but all friends my age say it the same way. Is this just an Irish way of saying it with the broad accent on certain parts of the word. Never a fan of his music though.

This

Not rtft but I know a guy who is a massive fan and he insists its Jo- elle and corrects me if I say it jole. He is such a big fan that conversation turns to Billy Joel quite frequently in his company 🙄

And on the back of this thread I will tell him he is wrong! Although I may end up having a lengthy conversation that I cba with!

Joe-ell.
But a relative's surname is Doel, pronounced Dole 🤷🏼‍♀️

Joe-elle

Billy Jole… I’m American though. If I were a born and bred Brit, I guess I’d say Jo-el.

My DS is called Joel which I thought was pretty simple but people seem to struggle with it and act like they've never heard ir before.

Jole

See 2005 Conan interview.

Jo-elle would be if you had two dots on the e. Jowel nope, that's Tessa

Jole to rhyme with dole. I don't think I've ever heard it pronounced any other way. I'm 42

I call him Billy JO-uhl. I say the boy's name the same way. I think 'Jole' sounds odd but I guess it's like 'Far place' (fire place a la Kirsty Allsop).

Nb. JO-uhl (2 syllables, rhymes with towel, stress on first syllable) is different to Jo-ELLE (also 2 syllables, stress on second, rhymes with bell)

My ds is Joel, so it’s pronounced Jole or maybe a slight emphasis on the ul so Joe-ull but only very slightly. Does that makes sense

Joel. This has been an ongoing argument in my family for years!

Top man
brilliant in concert
Fantastic music
❤️

jole like dole role mole bowl

Jo El.

Jole, like dole. I've never questioned it before and after a quick search on YouTube, here he is introducing himself as Billy "Jole" (skip to 1:15)

Billy Jo elle
Irish too. But I think it is actually Joel rhyming with role
Oh my goodness OP, he has fantastic songs.
His Goodnight Saigon is an amazing anti war song - one would be so anti war after hearing it - it captures the awfulness of war. The intro of the helicopter rotor blades - chilling.
The Downeaster Alexa. Love it.
Piano Man - simply brilliant.

I always said the two-syllable version, but husband corrected me.

I am native english speaking, dh is not - advantage me.
Dh is a much more knowledgable music person - advantage him.

Don't know!

Yup!

FlippingOmicron I will listen over the weekend and come back to let you know as raving reviews here. Never heard Joel as a first name, is that an American name. If you heard the way I said post Offfffice you would laugh as big sound on the offfff ice, friends laugh and tease me when hear it and that is after living in uk for 14 years but back Ireland now. Thanks everyone love hearing all the different ways & stories about Billy.

It's Jole, like role. There's no debate about it or room for interpretation. It's his name and that's how he pronounces it.

It’s bizarre when you think about it. No Brit would call a bloke with the first name Joel ‘Jo-ell’, yet several people think the surname is not ‘Jole’ in the case of Billy Joel.

I have noticed some Brits have trouble with Ralph Lauren and say ‘Lau-renne’ when they would never call a woman named Lauren this and would manage to pronounce it properly.

Yes, that's exactly how I say it. Not jole or jo-el. Close to jole but not quite.

Exactly! It's like seeing the name Noel and pronouncing it no-elle for no reason and on your second point: even if someone has never heard Ralph Lauren pronounce his own name, have they never seen Friends?? Rachel works there for years, pronounces it properly repeatedly and Ralph does a cameo

I pronounce the boy's first name exactly like this. For a PP, it's a biblical name.

However, on MTV in the 80s, Billy Joel's surname was always pronounced Joe-Elle and so that's how I think of him, whether that's correct or incorrect.