Billy Joel will receive the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at a ceremony in Washington in November, James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, announced Tuesday. Mr. Joel is the sixth recipient of the award, a lifetime achievement prize that honors living songwriters whose work, in the library’s description, exemplifies “the standard of excellence associated with George and Ira Gershwin.”

Mr. Joel has won several Grammy Awards, including ones for song of the year and record of the year (both for “Just the Way You Are” in 1978) and for album of the year (for “52nd Street,” in 1979), and is known for easygoing, melodic songs like “New York State of Mind,” “Honesty” and “Captain Jack” as well as for light, catchy rockers like “Only the Good Die Young” and “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.” Last December he became Madison Square Garden’s first “entertainment franchise,” meaning that he will perform at least one show there every month for as long as the demand is sustained.

“Billy Joel is a storyteller of the highest order,” Mr. Billington said in a statement. “There is an intimacy to his songwriting that bridges the gap between the listener and the worlds he shares through music. When you listen to a Billy Joel song, you know about the people and the place and what happened there. And while there may be pain, despair and loss, there is ultimately a resilience to it that makes you want to go to these places again and again.”

The past winners of the award are Carole King, the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.

“The great composer George Gershwin has been a personal inspiration to me throughout my career,” Mr. Joel said in a statement. “And the Library’s decision to include me among those songwriters who have been past recipients is a milestone for me.”