Billy Joel Admits He’s Struggling To Sing Some Of His Songs

The ‘Piano Man’ Billy Joel recently gave an interview to USA Today in which he revealed that he has trouble singing some of his songs.

Billy Joel has enjoyed a commercially successful musical career as a solo artist since the 1970s. Throughout his career, he has released 12 studio albums between 1971 and 1993 and one studio album in 2001. One of the best-selling music artists of all time, Joel has been active in the music scene for almost six decades.

Apart from his musical efforts, Billy Joel also has an exclusive channel on SiriusXM named The Billy Joel Channel. It is a limited edition channel that appears periodically on SiriusXM. Moreover, it features Joel’s music from his five-decade-long career, the musician’s exclusive stories, and radio shows hosted by Joel himself.

In the interview with USA Today, the interviewer Melissa Ruggieri told Billy Joel that she listens his The Billy Joel Channel when available and asked the musician why it’s not a permanent addition. As a response, Billy Joel stated that it is because he has limited content. He said he only has a dozen albums and 50 variations, so he is out of content for the channel.

Following that, the 72-year-old musician said the actual recordings of his songs are on the albums, and they don’t modify them during the recording process. However, he admitted they have lowered some of the keys because of his age. Joel then recalled he was able to hit so many notes in his 20s and 30s, but he is struggling to sing his songs now.

During the interview, USA Today’s Melissa Ruggieri told Billy Joel that:

“I always listen to your SiriusXM ‘The Billy Joel Channel’ when available. Why don’t they just make it a permanent addition?”

Billy Joel then said:

The problem is content. I only did a dozen albums, and the label has put out 50 variations of them. The Beatles did the same amount of albums, so I thought that was a good number to stop at. So with the channel, the content would need to be fleshed out, and eventually, you run out of content. I didn’t want people to be banged over the head, so I thought less is more.

For me, the true recordings are on the albums. We don’t jam in the middle of songs; we don’t change them that much. We’ve lowered some of the keys because of my age. I wish I had known I’d be doing this at my age. When I was doing this in my 20s and 30s, I was able to hit notes I couldn’t imagine now. It’s a struggle to sing this stuff now. By the end of the show, my voice is shot and I’m unable to speak.”

The Billy Joel Channel recently made a comeback for a limited time from October 1 until November 2. The channel aired tracks from the musician’s ‘Live At The Great American Music Hall,’ the 1975 concert featured in his ‘The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1’ box set released on November 5. Besides, listeners also heard exclusive Billy Joel content on the channel.