Billy Joel is considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, yet the legendary performer revealed that he hadn't penned an album since the release of his 12th album, River of Dreams, in 1993. The 77-year-old spoke to Rick Beato on Monday and shared in the YouTube interview that he was afraid of altering his musical legacy by writing songs past his prime.
"I've heard artists who keep putting out records and, really, they're past…They dilute their legacy," he explained. "Maybe they're not as good as they used to be or they're not as motivated as they were, but it ends up trailing off. I didn't want to go like that."
"It's not easy to do. Saying no sometimes is really hard to do," he continued, before sharing that he shifted his focus to writing classical music instead. "I did a whole album of classical piano pieces after that. That's where I wanted to go. I was ready to do that. [It was] something I had to get out of my system," Billy said of his 2001 album Fantasies & Delusions.
© Getty Images"I didn't want to just keep beating a dead horse and being played because I was Billy Joel," the father of three explained. "I wanted it to be good, and I recognized that I didn't have the same motivation I used to have, so I said, 'Stop.'"
"I didn't want to lock myself in a cave and devote myself like a monk to writing anymore. I had done it 12 times, and I thought, 'You know what? The Beatles had 12 albums.' And that was just enough for me."
Instead, Billy poured his focus into his family, particularly his first-born child, Alexa Ray Joel, whom he welcomed in 1985 with his ex-wife, supermodel Christie Brinkley. His last original song release was in 2024 with "Turn the Lights Back On".
© Getty ImagesThe "Piano Man" singer added that he didn't feel he could give useful advice about songwriting anymore to industry up-and-comers.
Learn more about Billy's health battle below...
"I go, 'Well, you're gonna have to fix it because I can't do it anymore,'" he recalled of an interaction with an unnamed band member. "'You better learn how to stop songwriting because it's gonna drive you crazy. You'll go insane. You get to a point you can't do it anymore.'"
"'You've tapped it out, you reached such a high level that you can't stand not reaching that level anymore, and you hate yourself,'" he continued. "You beat yourself up, and I don't want to put myself through that anymore."
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyBilly's admission comes amid his ongoing health battle with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), a brain condition caused by a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid that can lead to balance issues, vision and hearing problems and cognitive decline.
© Getty ImagesHe was forced to cancel tour dates in North America and England in 2025 to seek treatment for the condition. Billy's daughter Alexa shared with The Hollywood Reporter that he was "doing great" and working hard to improve his health.
"He's doing physical therapy regularly, and he's doing great. He's lost weight as he's on his diet," she explained. "I'm so proud of him. He's such a trooper, so resilient and committed to being healthy and proactive. He's a fighter. He's always been a fighter."
