Billy Joel played the Roxy Theatre, Northampton, 49 years ago.

Billy Joel released his song, “Allentown,” 40 years ago.

A Billy Joel tribute band is commemorating the Roxy concert and the 40th anniversary of “Allentown.”

“We May Be Right: Billy Joel Tribute Band” performs 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15, Roxy Theatre, 2004 Main St., Northampton. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Billy Joel sold out the 550-seat (now 450-seat) Roxy venue for two concerts presented by then Lehigh Valley rock music powerhouse WSAN, Nov. 28, 1973.

Before his superstar success, Billy Joel played several concerts in the Lehigh Valley. He wrote “Allentown,” lead track from his album, “The Nylon Curtain,” which charted at No. 17 in November 1982.

William Martin “Billy” Joel, 73, a Bronx native who grew up in Hicksville, Long Island, N.Y., will perform his 87th monthly concert Jan. 13, 2023, at Madison Square Garden, New York City, with Oct. 9, Nov. 23 and Dec. 19 concerts there sold out. His tour takes him to Atlanta, Ga., Nov. 11; Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 3, and Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 10.

Billy Joel has sold 160 million albums worldwide, with the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, “It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me” (1980) and “We Didn’t Start The Fire” (1989), and No. 3 hits, “Just The Way You Are” (1977), “My Life” (1978), “Uptown Girl” (1983) and “The River Of Dreams” (1993). Billy Joel’s song “You May Be Right” charted at No. 7 in 1980.

The “We May Be Right: Billy Joel Tribute Band” concert is produced by Bobby Dee Concert Productions, LLC.

The production company is owned by Bob Daday, a Lehigh Valley TV personality for whom the Billy Joel tribute concert is the fourth concert he has produced this year.

Bobby Dee Concert Productions brought the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tribute concert in April and Neil Diamond tribute concert Sept. 11 for Lehigh County first-responders to the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Allentown, and the Motown tribute show in July to Civic Theatre of Allentown.

“Thinking about the Roxy, I looked back at the history,” says Daday in a phone interview. “I saw that Billy Joel was there.”

Daday contacted Richard Wolfe, Roxy Theatre owner.

“I went over there, and they have the Billy Joel Dressing Room downstairs and I thought, ‘Man, this is perfect.’

“I checked around online and after watching videos bleary-eyed, I said this is the group that I want.”

“We May Be Right: Billy Joel Tribute Band” features pianist and vocalist Karl Dietel in the role of “Piano Man” Billy Joel.

“A New York City Skyline sets the backdrop with the band delivering hit after hit along with some of Billy’s best deep cuts,” states the We May Be Right website.

The Billy Joel tribute band includes Perry Andrews, brass, woodwinds, percussion; background vocals; Derek Davodowich, guitar; Luke Kessel, bass, background vocals, and Andy Janowiak, drums.

“This guy looks like Billy Joel, he plays like Billy Joel and he’s fantastic on the piano,” says Daday.

Opening the concert is The Wise Men, a Northampton Community College vocal group conducted by Rosemary Murdy-Haber, NCC Chorus Director. Four members will sing a two-song opener. A chorus of 16 singers will accompany the tribute band for the finale.

Daday will introduce the Roxy concert.

Daday and his wife moved to The Villages in central Florida in 2008, returning to the Lehigh Valley in 2020. They live in South Whitehall Township.

In Florida, Daday and a partner produced concerts by tribute bands in the Orlando area.

“If we didn’t have a sponsor for our concerts, we used to bite our nails. One day I walked into a Cadillac dealership in Florida and they were a sponsor for 10 years,” Daday says.

“When I came back here, I said, ‘I’m done.’ Then I sat down and said, ‘I want to do one more show.”

That led to four concerts by Bobby Dee Concert Productions.

Daday contacted Kevin S. Reichtel, Funeral Director and Owner, Reichel Funeral Home, Northampton, who agreed to sponsor the Billy Joel tribute concert.

Daday was director of public relations for 10 years at Mack Trucks, Inc., and was a marketing manager for 25 years for the United States Treasury Department.

Daday hosted “Bob Daday”s World” for 30 years on RCN, where he did play-by-play reporting for athletic events.

Concert tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com

Information: 610-262-ROXY

“Spotlight” is a column about the stars, artists and producers of the theater and concert stage. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com