Steve Cohen: Behind the scenes: Billy Joel's And So It Goes HBO Documentary
Steve Cohen: Behind the scenes: Billy Joel's And So It Goes HBO Documentary  
Podcast: Tony Mantor's : Almost Live..... Nashville
Published On: Tue Jul 15 2025
Description: Steve Cohen, Emmy award-winning producer and Billy Joel's longtime creative director, guides us through the creation of HBO's powerful new documentary "Billy Joel: And So It Goes," premiering July 18th and 25th as a landmark two-part film exploring the Piano Man's extraordinary life and music.• Billy Joel initially resisted documentary proposals for years, believing "his life is in his music" until recently deciding the time was right• The project came together when filmmaker Susan Lacey (creator of PBS's American Masters series) connected with Cohen through a series of fortunate coincidences• Cohen served as executive producer while ensuring Billy maintained no editorial control to preserve the film's authenticity• Susan Lacey and co-director Jessica Levin created an unexpected connection with Billy through their shared classical music backgrounds and Holocaust survivor family histories• The documentary features 120 Billy Joel songs and reveals the personal stories and motivations behind his writing that he rarely discussed publicly• Steve Cohen is transitioning from his 50-year rock and roll touring career to focus on film and television production as his "second act"Watch "Billy Joel: And So It Goes" premiering on HBO July 18th (Part One) and July 25th (Part Two).