In 1953, the year Billy Joel turned four, his mother enrolled him in piano lessons. It was a fateful decision. As a teenager, Joel watched the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. “That one performance changed my life,” he later said. “Up to that moment I’d never considered playing rock as a career.” At 16, Joel joined a band called the Echoes, and in 1972, after a live radio performance of “Captain Jack,” he caught the attention of Columbia Records. The rest is history. In this documentary, archival footage as well as interviews with figures like Bruce Springsteen and Christie Brinkley help tell the rock star’s electrifying story. —Elena Clavarino