Billy Joel’s mom, 1978 song namesake, dies
Billy Joel’s mother, who inspired him to write Rosalinda’s Eyes, has died in New York at age 92.
Rosalind Nyman Joel died Sunday on Long Island, said Claire Mercuri, a spokeswoman for the singer and songwriter.
Rosalinda’s Eyes, from Joel’s 1978 album 52nd Street was a tribute to his mother, who raised him alone after divorcing his father, Howard Joel, in 1957.
The lyrics include the words: “I’ve got music in my hands; The work is hard to find; But that don’t get me down; Rosalinda understands.”
Rosalind Joel worked in a clerical capacity for various businesses near her home in Hicksville and supported a number of charities.
Billy Joel endowed the Rosalind Joel Scholarship for the Performing Arts at City College in 1986. In lieu of flowers, the family requested that donations be made to The Little Shelter animal rescue and adoption center in Huntington, Long Island.
(AP)