Last week The Enquirer broke the news that Billy was dating Kate, who is only four years older than his daughter, Alexa, and Kate's furious father accused the singer of robbing the cradle.

Now, the couple have made their first pulbic appearance at the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York on March 10th, 2003. And a friend of Kate reveals her surprising hopes for the couple's future.

"Kate's really fallen for Billy and she's quite taken with the lifestyle of dating a celebrity," the friend told The Enquirer.

"When she saw how beautiful Billy's daughter Alexa is, Kate got an inkling of what it might be like to have a child with him. She thinks they'd make a beautiful baby together."

(Note to Kate: Alexa's mother is Christie Brinkley. That might have something to do with her beauty!)

"But marriage is another matter - not that Billy has asked yet," said the friend. "She's not sure she could commit herself to him for the rest of her life."

A source close to the singer declared: "This isn't a one-night stand for Billy. He's looking for a long-standing relationship. But he's aware that Kate isn't out for a quick fling either and is telling her friends she wants to have children.

There's no telling what he might do to keep her happy."

A graduate of a Catholic high school in Huntington, West Virginia, where he stepfather is a doctor, Kate is a sqeaky-clean, all-American girl," her friend told The Enquirer.

"She was always a fan of Billy Joel, and when she was in New York last fall she happened to run into him at her hotel. The attraction was mutual.

"Billy gave her some tickets to his Broadway show "Movin' Out," and they met backstage afterward.

"She and Billy have been together ever since."

The source close to Billy, who did a stint in alcohol rehab last year, added: "His friends are hoping Kate will sober him up for good - and make him happy."

"I'd like to take this opportunity to announce my engagement to my new fiancé, Nicole Kidman...April fool!" he joked.

John's voice seemed a bit raspy as the two traded verses during the three-song opening set.

The "face-off" ended with "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," complete with a full band and dazzling sunset light effects, and the duo received a warm standing ovation from the audience.

Joel departed after the set, donning a pair of sunglasses from an adoring fan, and Sir Elton took over, starting with a compliment to the 14,660-seat venue.

"This is a really good building to play because it's so intimate," John said.

"So we're going to have a big old party in here tonight."

John's set included several of his newer tunes, including his latest single, "I Want Love."

The showman also broke out the old favorites, including a warm rendition of "Rocket Man" with an extended ending. John may not be able to hit some of the high notes anymore, but his piano work proved his lasting power as a performer.

Pulling out the old hit "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues," John was at his finest - at times, the singer simply gazed at the accompanying audience like a slightly bemused teddy bear, later hopping off his bench to orchestrate the light show.

The set wrapped up with the old-school hit "Crocodile Rock," bringing the crowd to its feet once again to dance like only white people can.

The song was highlighted by a full-on sing-along of the ever-catchy "la, la, la" chorus, and Sir Elton left the stage to yet another lasting standing ovation.

Joel emerged from the wings to perform his 1977 hit "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant."

The singer's voice was in top form, and soon pleased the crowd again with his 1993 smash "The River of Dreams."

Maybe it wasn't Vegas, but the "Piano Men" were in full effect Tuesday night - the show was worth the hefty price tag.

"To forget about life for a while."

That crowd wasn't only from Mid-Iowa. Music fans from Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Kansas were all a part of the 14,000-plus crowd who sang part of "Piano Man" as Joel and John listened.

"Sing us a song, you're the 'Piano Man.' Sing us a song tonight. For we're all in the mood for a melody, and you've got us feeling all right."

That song and those words ended an enthusiastic, high-energy 3½ hour performance that had fat old men and college coeds dancing in the aisles side-by-side.

"It was unbelievable," said Jeanne Skutnick of Omaha, Nebraska. "There are not words that can describe that ending. We all said what we were feeling. I cannot believe how great that was."

The tone was evident from the outset. Joel, with swagger and confidence in his step, came on stage to the music of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." John strolled on stage in an all-pink suit with matching shoes.

As both entered the concert, the flags of the United States and the United Kingdom were shown on a screen hanging above the stage.

"This is a really good building to play in," John told the crowd. "It is so intimate. We are going to have a party tonight."

Those words came true as late in the performance Joel showed his dance moves on top of the two pianos that faced each other at the front of the stage. John at one point lay on his piano.

As for the highlights of the show, the duo played three songs together to open the show and five to close.

John then roused the crowd with favorites such as "Rocket Man" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues."

He also played some songs off his newest album, including the first single, "I Want Love."

Joel led the crowd with such tunes as "The River of Dreams," "Only The Good Die Young," "An Innocent Man" and "New York State of Mind."

"It took up the whole apartment, and all I wanted was that grand piano, a black grand piano," he said. "I slept under it for about a week. It's always been a friend to me, through relationships that haven't always lasted, friendships that have come and gone or business associates, the piano has always been a great source of comfort and friendship."

The piano's relationship with rock and roll music has not always been so steadfast. It was there at the beginning, of course, when Ike Turner and singer Jackie Brenston fired up the genre's alleged original hit, "Rocket 88," and when Johnnie Johnson teamed with Chuck Berry to create timeless classics such as "Maybellene," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven."

But whether it's because of the piano's physical size, the fact that it's fairly necessary to sit down to play it or its relative incompatibility with distorted, high-volume sound, there's little doubt that the piano long ago lost out to the guitar as rock's predominant instrument.

Joel and fellow pianist Elton John, who are touring together once again this year in their latest series of "Face 2 Face" concerts, are easily the most famous and most successful tinklers of the ivories of the past 30 years. But it doesn't diminish their astounding accomplishments - tens of millions of records sold, dozens of hit singles, Grammys, election of both to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and even a knighthood for Elton - to say that they haven't had all that much competition.

If you remember (in Elton's words) when rock was young, you'll recall a time when piano played a much more important role in the music. In the pre-rock days, there were pianists such as Jelly Roll Morton, whose flamboyant style and powerful blues stomps laid the foundation for rock ad roll as early as the 1920s. Years later, blues balladeer Charles Brown and jazz/pop great Nat King Cole brought a sense of sophistication to the music. Ray Charles added soul to the mix, and the likes of Otis Spann and Pinetop Perkins added some raw blues.

But when rock and roll piano erupted for real, it did so with the earthshaking talents of artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. Richard calls himself the architect of rock and roll, and it's simply too exhausting to argue the point with him. Actually, there's really no need, as he more than proved his abilities with a stunning string of mid-'50s hits including "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally" and "Lucille," each of them a piano-pounding sensation. Richard, with his mile-high pompadour, heavy makeup and outrageous outfits, cut quite a figure on stage.

None of that was lost on Jerry Lee Lewis, one of rock and roll's wildest performers. As he charged through his classic numbers, including "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," Lewis' blonde locks came undone and hung down in his face, and he was likely as not to send his piano stool flying. Once, in a famous case of one-upmanship with Chuck Berry, he set his piano on fire to prove himself the superior performer.

Another piano great, though he is perhaps less heralded these days than he should be, is Fats Domino. With hits such as "Ain't That A Shame" and "Blueberry Hill," Fats was a major force during rock's first golden age. In fact, he charted more records in the 1950s than anyone except Elvis Presley.

After the first group of rock and roll stars faded, however, piano players seemed to become somewhat less visible. The early '60s brought us the Motown sound, girl groups and Brill Building pop, which made vocalists, not instrumentalists, the stars. The British invasion brought bands back to the forefront, but by then the guitar had asserted its primacy. Then, too, there were other keyboards, including various types of organs - and, eventually, the synthesizer - to take attention away from the piano.

The late '60s became the era of the guitar hero, with stars such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend leading the way. With unearthly, dive-bombing, feedback-drenched sounds emanating from guitars everywhere, the piano, with a modest three footpedals to alter its sound ever so slightly, seemed hopelessly tame.

But the tide began to turn in the early '70s, thanks in large part to a short, balding, spectacled singer/songwriter from England, whose given name was Reginald Kenneth Dwight. Elton John was an instant sensation when he hit these shores, and the mellow, introspective "Your Song," written with lyricist Bernie Taupin, immediately leapt into the Top 10.

John pounded the piano with the passion and fervor of Jerry Lee Lewis but sartorially recalled another famous pianist, Liberace. John's penchant for outrageous eyewear, spangled outfits and feather boas provided camp, glam and pure escapist entertainment in an age that needed exactly that.

Over the next three-plus decades, John would be regarded as a rock star, yes, but one who also succeeded with amazing regularity on the pop charts. In 1992, he surpassed Elvis Presley's record of most consecutive years of Top 40 hits on Billboard's singles chart.

And what hits they were, from early smashes such as "Rocket Man," "Crocodile Rock," "Daniel," "Bennie and The Jets," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Candle In The Wind" to more mature efforts such as "Sad Songs (Say So Much)," "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" and his triumphant hit from the film "The Lion King" (written with lyricist Tim Rice), "Can You Feel The Love Tonight."

John wasn't just a dependable hitmaker - many of his albums are classics, too, including "Madman Across The Water," "Honky Chateau" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." His most recent album, "Songs From The West Coast," is proof of his staying power as an artist. Not only did it yield a pair of hits - "I Want Love" and "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" - but it's also his best and most cohesive effort in years.

About the same time John was becoming a huge sensation, Billy Joel was playing and recording in a bizarre organ-and-drums psychedelic/metal duo known as Attila. Luckily, that band sank without much of a trace, and Joel repositioned himself in a singer/songwriter mode not unlike John (albeit much less flashy). His first Top 40 hit, "Piano Man," recounted Joel's stint as a lowly lounge singer at a Los Angeles bar.

Once Joel found his way onto the charts, however, he seldom stayed off for the better part of 20 years. He has battled critics for years over the legitimacy of his music, but the truth is he's produced a body of work with impressive breadth and depth. True, some of his songs, such as "Just The Way You Are" and "New York State of Mind," have been adopted by the easy-listening set, but he's also explored a wide range of styles, including Brill Building pop ("Say Goodbye To Hollywood"), doo-wop ("The Longest Time"), careening rock and roll ("Only The Good Die Young") and even new wave ("It's Still Rock and Roll To Me").

Joel hasn't released a new album of pop songs since 1993's "River of Dreams," instead pursuing his love of classical music. In 2001, the album "Fantasies & Delusions" spotlighted a dozen Joel compositions, performed by pianist Richard Joo.

Writing a Broadway musical was also a longtime dream of Joel's, and it was realized last year, when "Movin' Out," a dialogue-free pop ballet choreographed by Twyla Tharp, hit the Great White Way. If nothing else, the production underscored how dramatic songs such as "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant," "The Stranger" and "I've Loved These Days" were all along.

Of course, John and Joel were not the only "Piano Men" (and women) to come along during the late '60s and early '70s. There were many greats, including Randy Newman, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Warren Zevon, Tom Waits and others. But none of them has had the sustained success of John and Joel. Indeed, very few performers have, whether they sit behind a piano or not.

In the end, the legacy of John and Joel has not just been about writing and performing great hit material. It's also been about bringing the piano back into vogue after its 1960s disappearance from a prominent position in the rock and pop worlds.

The latest crop of singer/songwriters to emerge, including Vanessa Carlton and multi-Grammy winner Norah Jones, are finding that you can be a star and still sit behind the old 88s. It's a lesson that more aspiring musicians should take to heart.

"Let's face it," he said. "With the prices you paid for these tickets, we should all be doing your kids' birthdays and bar-mitzvahs."

Rhythm writers Rob Thomas (Billy Joel) and Tom Alesia (Elton John) compared the two piano titans:

Billy Joel®

Age: 53

Place of Birth: Bronx, NY

Real Name: William Martin Joel (this version of his name is, apparently, not trademarked.)

Number of Albums: 20

Learned Piano at Age: 4

Previous Occupation: Boxer

Name of First Band: "The Echoes," who later became the "Lost Souls" and eventually "The Emerald Lords."

When Quit School: Finished high school, but was not allowed to graduate because of too many absences.

Grammy Award Wins: 5 (last one in 1980)

Last Madison Appearance: 1979

First #1 Single: "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me"

Number of Hugs With Eminem: None verified.

Best Song Title: "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant"

Worst Song Title: "Root Beer Rag"

Oddest Souvenir Sold: A dollar bill with Joel's face on it, selling for $3.75 on eBay.

Official Web-Site's Most Outrageous Claim: Actually, his web-site is pretty hyperbole-free.

Quote On Songwriting: "Manic depression is very useful in songwriting, so put it to work."

Worst Remake: Helen Reddy covered Joel's "You're My Home." Joel used to say in concert that Reddy "ripped it to shreds."

Strangest Duet Partner Who Was Not Eminem: The other guy in Attila, the heavy metal band Joel was in in 1970 just before he went solo.

Best Birthday Present, Given or Received: "Just The Way You Are" was written as a birthday present for his first wife, Elizabeth.

Fun Dog-Related Fact: Billy Joel played a dog in the animated feature "Oliver & Company."

Elton John

Age: 56

Place of Birth: Pinner, Middlesex, United Kingdom

Real Name: Reginald Kenneth Dwight

Number of Albums: 36

Learned Piano at Age: 4

Previous Occupation: Errand boy for a London publishing company.

Name of First Band: "Bluesology"

When Quit School: Age 17

Grammy Award Wins: 3 (last one in 1997; first one in 1991)

Last Madison Appearance: 1999

First #1 Single: "Crocodile Rock"

Number of Hugs With Eminem: 1

Best Song Title: "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"

Worst Song Title: "Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance)!"

Oddest Souvenir Sold: The book "Elton John's Flower Fantasies," written by one of his florists, contains 120 photos of Elton's homes and gardens.

Official Web-Site's Most Outrageous Claim: "Elton John's life is one of the most chronicled on the planet. Everywhere he goes people seek him out."

Quote On Songwriting: Most of his songs' lyrics are written by Bernie Taupin. Elton says, "I'm not very good at it. I'm a very verbose person. I can have a great conversation with someone but as far as writing things down, I'm not very good."

Worst Remake: Elton's second version of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with RuPaul.

Strangest Duet Partner Who Was Not Eminem: Axl Rose

Best Birthday Present, Given or Received: Cocker spaniel puppy named
Arthur from his partner, David Furnish.

Fun Dog-Related Fact: Elton John owns 21 dogs.

"I believe Elton is sick," Litvag said. "We are waiting for a reschedule date so we can announce it. Obviously, we're disappointed, but we're talking about people here, not machines. They get sick."

Litvag said the show had sold well. "We've sold over 19,000 tickets to this. We didn't see any price resistance to them. The tickets went very quickly."

The tour moves next to Madison, Wisconsin, to play on Sunday.

Litvag said refunds will be available once the show has been rescheduled. "If people do want refunds, they can get them at the point of purchase," he said.

Some seat prices were as high as $207.

Litvag said, "But it's Billy and Elton. Comparatively speaking to any of the big shows coming through town, it's getting up in that range. We don't like it, but the artist really dictates the ticket prices. They tell us how much they need to make, and based on that we come up with ticket prices. It's a high guarantee."

One industry insider suggested that Elton John and Billy Joel would be guaranteed at least $400,000 apiece to play here. Litvag declined to comment.

"I know how much you paid for these tickets," Joel told the audience. "I should be doing your windows right now."

Since both Joel and John's pianos were placed on stage perpendicular to the crowd, and the stage lacked any kind of backdrop, promoters were able to sell nearly all the seats behind the stage as well as to the front and sides. That meant almost 16,000 people were in the arena, rocking along to John's "Crocodile Rock" or Joel's "Only The Good Die Young."

And it was a truly multigenerational audience, a really rare thing to see, where teenagers, grandparents and everyone in between were singing along.

Joel is 53 and John is 55, and neither has quite the singing voice as when they were in their 20s. The strain on Joel's voice could be heard through parts of the show's final song, "Piano Man," and John didn't even try and scale the high notes in the chorus of "Tiny Dancer."

But their voices are still strong, and can still get to the emotional heart of a song and help the listener get there, too. They're also magnificent performers who seemingly share in the audience's delight in a favorite song, even though they've probably played it thousands of times. The duet they did of John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" was thrilling, the kind of magical moment that most performers would kill to end their shows with. And it was just the third song of the evening.

Joel and John embraced on stage as the show opened, then retreated to their respective pianos for the three-song opening round. Then Joel left the stage, and John dug into a substantial 80-minute solo set that spanned his long career, from the gorgeous "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" off "Captain Fantastic" to the bluesy "The Wasteland' off John's 2001 comeback album, "Songs From The West Coast."

John wasn't quite as chatty between songs as Joel was, although he did take time to dedicate "I Want Love" to some Madison friends, including the band Garbage and the Sticha family, who are known around the world for their lighting and sound work, and to whom John has entrusted his piano for years.

Established hits like "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" or "Rocket Man" got more of a crowd reaction than new songs like "The Wasteland," which is par for the course. After every song, John leapt from his piano bench and trotted around the stage, acknowledging the loud cheers of the audience.

The audience was a little more subdued during Joel's 60-minute set, which was surprising, given that it was a more uptempo collection of tunes, including "Only The Good Die Young" and "I Go To Extremes."

Joel seemed much looser than John onstage, willing to crack jokes, prance around and otherwise play the knucklehead to entertain. He hasn't played in Madison since 1979, but he showed right away that he knew where he was by tinkling a few bars of "On, Wisconsin."

"This is the new place, huh?" he said, looking around the Kohl Center. "It beats the crap out of that stock arena we used to play in. We always had to follow some kind of horse show in there. This smells much better."

Joel's set included "Prelude/Angry Young Man," for which he pounded the piano keys at a furious pace, the soulful "The River of Dreams," and a stellar rendition of "New York State of Mind." When he came out from behind the keyboard, he vamped his way through "An Innocent Man" and twirled the microphone stand around like a baton for "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me," almost clocking himself with the microphone at one point.

Finally, Joel and John came back onstage together for a half hour of duet rockers, including versions of "You May Be Right" and "The Bitch Is Back." The duet set had a much more playful vibe - John tried to bump Joel off his stool at one point, and Joel stretched out on John's piano like Michelle Pfeiffer in "The Fabulous Baker Boys."

At the end, they came back on stage for a one-song encore, Joel's "Piano Man." John adjusted the lyrics, saying the audience was a "pretty good crowd for a Sunday," and saying he was glad they joined him "to forget about life for a while." Which can certainly be worth $175.