Joel debuts new tune for Sears Centre crowd

Icy weather kept the Sears Centre from packing in a sold-out crowd Saturday for Billy Joel's return to the Chicago area, but that didn't keep Joel from giving his fans an early Christmas present.

Halfway through his two-hour-plus set Saturday in Hoffman Estates, Joel brought Long Island singer/guitarist Cass Dillon on stage to give the first live performance of "Christmas in Fallujah," a new song written by Joel -- just the second pop offering from the American legend since 1993's "River of Dreams" album.

Joel explained he felt a younger voice needed to sing the song, whose lyrics express the frustration of a soldier in Iraq. A sample lyric: "We came to bring these people freedom / We came to fight the infidel / There is no justice in the desert / Because there is no God in Hell."

The performance concluded with servicemen lining the back of the stage, shouting "oo-rah!" as part of the song's chorus.

The single will be available Tuesday on iTunes, with all proceeds going toward Homes For Our Troops, an organization that builds homes for soldiers who return from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe disabilities.

Joel joked that the performance would show up on YouTube after the concert, and he was right -- check it out at http://youtube.com/watch?v=an7v6I2Bruo.