The Piano pop style was born in 1950's with music of such famous performers as Jerry Lee Lewis. At the time classic rock style and pop music were mainly based on guitar. Interesting playing manner of Jerry Lee Lewis made piano also popular so the number of musicians playing in piano rock style started to get bigger. His music also affected musicians performing in many other different styles not only piano pop. So, popularity of piano based music was growing but still at those times scene was dominated by male pop pianists - there probably were no female artists. That situation had changed only much later.
On modern scene this music style is represented by male pop pianists like Billy Joel and Elton John. They made this style much more popular by combining Jerry Lee Lewis manner with soft rhythms of Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles music.
William Martin "Billy" Joel is a big figure in the area of piano music. He was born in 1950 when piano rock only started to appear. And he also became much known in that style - he started his music career with single called "Piano Man" in 1973. Although piano rock appeared a little earlier Billy Joel for his huge contribution to that style is considered to be the father of piano rock (at least the father of modern piano rock).
During 1987-89 he had visited the Soviet Union - that was a great breakthrough at the time. Not many Western Artists were performing in the SU. And as many other artists in the genre Billy Joel is not only pianist - he is a multitalented person - he is also a singer and a songwriter. Billy Joel is introduced into both Songwriter's Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Another big name among male pop pianists is, of course, Elton John. It is probably his songs that made piano rock so popular on modern scene. And along with Billy Joel he is considered a father of modern piano pop. In 1994, Elton John was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But Elton John is not only a musician - he leads a very active social life. He uses his huge popularity all over the world to express his social and political position. He made a great contribution into the fight against AIDS and cancer. John is himself openly gay and recently married his boyfriend many years.
Another famous pianist is Stevie Wonder. Although most of his compositions can be defined as Rhythm and Blues and not Pop or Rock he is usually referred to male pop pianists. His own songs have a great affect on many modern artists. Many modern musicians say that Wonder is their favorite artist and they try to play like Stevie Wonder.
He is also a great song writer - he has written and produced a great number of songs for other artists like Michael Jackson and Barbra Streisand. During his musical career Stevie Wonder received an enormous number of 22 Grammy Awards. And in 1989 he was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Unlike early years of piano pop (piano rock) style modern scene is not only filled with male pop pianists - there are also growing number of female artists these days. One of the most well-known female pop pianists is Sheryl Crow. Although she is known more as a singer and a song writer she also plays piano great.