billy Joe 是犹太人,他的爸爸是德国犹太人,妈妈是英国犹太人。本人在纽约出生。但他听了甲壳虫的音乐后,得到很多启发,最后决定选择音乐生涯。他的成名作应该是piano man。 他九十年代初的The river of dreams很有特色,特别是有美国南方乡村风味。这首歌也反映了他日渐成熟的风格。这首歌主要描述他在半夜梦中,做灵魂的探索。 93年在主要音乐市场一炮打响:
Peak positions Chart (1993)↓ Peak position↓ Australian Singles Chart 1 Austrian Singles Chart 2 Canadian Singles Chart 2 Dutch Top 40[1] 5 French Singles Chart 4 German Media Control Charts 4 Irish Singles Chart 2 New Zealand Singles Chart 1 Norwegian Singles Chart 8 Swedish Singles Chart 8 Swiss Singles Chart 2 UK Singles Chart 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 3 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 1 U.S. Billboard Hot Singles Recurrents 1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Recurrent Airplay 1 U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream 1
Lyrics of the River of Dreams:
In the middle of the night I go walking in my sleep From the mountains of faith To the river so deep I must be lookin' for something Something sacred i lost But the river is wide And it's too hard to cross even though I know the river is wide I walk down every evening and stand on the shore I try to cross to the opposite side So I can finally find what I've been looking for In the middle of the night I go walking in my sleep Through the valley of fear To a river so deep I've been searching for something Taken out of my soul Something I'd never lose Something somebody stole I don't know why I go walking at night But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life Until I find what it is I've been looking for (Three beat Pause) In the middle of the night I go walking in my sleep Through the jungle of doubt To the river so deep I know I'm searching for something Something so undefined That it can only be seen By the eyes of the blind In the middle of the night (break)
I’m not sure about a life after this God knows I've never been a spiritual man Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river That is runnin' through the promised land (Long Five beat Pause)
In the middle of the night I go walking in my sleep Through the desert of truth To the river so deep We all end in the ocean We all start in the streams We're all carried along By the river of dreams In the middle of the night