Billy Joel Fans in NJ Are Furious with CBS Television
CBS Television knew that Billy Joel was The Entertainer worthy of a special broadcast of his 100th show at Madison Square Garden.
So they got everyone into a New York State of Mind by publicizing this event for months.
You couldn't go anywhere on social media without seeing ads for the upcoming show.
For many fans, tickets to see Billy have become too difficult to find, or if you could find them, they were too pricey to see the Big Shot in person.
Fans waited for the Longest Time for this event.
CBS promoted this by claiming this was the first time a Billy Joel concert was broadcast on network television.
They knew they had to Get it Right the First Time.
What could go wrong?
Funny you should ask.
The show was scheduled to start at 9:00 but was delayed due to the Masters running overtime.
Then, once the broadcast did begin, CBS must have thought it would be Easy Money broadcasting commercials.
If Honesty is the best policy, I'd have to admit that commercials pay the bills.
However, on This Night, CBS chose to Go to Extremes. There were probably 7 to 10 commercials between nearly every song.
There were so many commercials, that I found myself Sleeping with the Television On.
I did see parts of the concert. I'm not a huge Sting fan, but he was outstanding on Big Man on Mulberry Street.
Billy sounded great too. He's not a kid anymore and he doesn't move around the stage like he used to, but his voice sounded great.
On This Night, watching Billy perform brought back great memories.
Billy Joel fans were Keeping the Faith that he'd perform his signature song. It's one song everyone knows, even if you're not a fan.
Then the moment came. Billy was awesome, and now it was time to end the show. Don't Ask Me Why, but I got chills as he played the first few notes of Piano Man.
The crowd roared and as usual, they sang along. They were loud. I had to wake my wife to Tell Her About It.
Then the unthinkable happened. In the middle of this incredible television moment, CBS network affiliates dumped out of the show and went into local news.
Fans immediately started blasting CBS's social platforms begging the network to Turn the Lights Back On, but the network had a Code of Silence and never responded.
It should be noted that CBS will be offering the concert in its entirety on its paid platforms. So if you missed it, you can always watch it there.
And So It Goes, the story of a great Billy Joel concert screwed up by network television.
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