BILLY JOEL BREAKS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN RECORD

(VIDEO) Billy Joel became the first entertainer to be retired by having his banner raised to the rafters in Madison Square Garden…

Billy Joel will break, his own sell-out record tonight, April 24, for consecutive sell-outs at Madison Square Garden. A banner with his “retired” number of 12 will be raised to the roof of the world’s most famous arena.

Joel is thankful for the honor, but he said don’t retire him just yet.

“Um, they’re retiring my number? I didn’t know it was over. It’s been a great run here. It’s always been a thrill to play at Madison Square Garden. It’s just got an aura to it since I was a little kid. I went to the old Madison Square Garden and it was at a Christmas holiday time. I went to see the circus and they had Gene Autrey come out and he made everybody sing Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer, and I was way up at the top. I thought it was the biggest place I had ever seen, and I’m all the way at the top. He’s singing Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, and not everybody was singing along so he pulls out his six guns and he goes, ‘I said everybody sing,’ and he started shooting the guns. I got scared to death and I started crying, and everything and that was my first exposure to Madison Square Garden.”

Billy Joel broke the record last week, and he said the venue holds special significance for him.

“Ever since I was a little boy this place has had a magic to it, and worldwide it’s known. YOu can go anywhere in the world and mention Madison Square Garden and people know about it, know where it is. It’s been a thrill for us.”

The show marks the last on his current tour, which hit New York, Los Angeles, and several other select cities. Joel’s Number 12 is the first entertainer to be “retired” and have his number raised to the roof of the arena. It will join greats of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, among others.