Appearing on John Mayer’s new ’How’s Life’ series on SiriusXM, Billy Joel recently revealed that he never liked his own voice.
Mayer asked Joel during the interview if he ever wanted to change his singing or songwriting style by referring to his own wish to mimic Sting’s falsetto on ’If You Love Somebody Set Them Free.’ “I know it’s a strange thing to say ’you wished you had more’ when you have so many songs you’ve written that were incredible,” the Dead & Company guitarist said, “but did you ever feel like, ’Ah, if I only had a couple more notes I’d be able to get that out?’”
Joel shared, “I always wanted to sing like somebody else — I never liked my own voice. I would go in the studio and do a recording and I’d come back in the control room and listen — ’Oh God, it’s that guy.’ I’m always disappointed — no matter how good I thought the writing was, I never liked my own voice. Always wanted to sound like somebody else.”
About a decade ago, the 75-year-old singer told Consequence that he started to appreciate his voice more as he aged, though he still didn’t view himself as a singer. He later also mentioned struggles with performing some of his songs on stage.
“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,” Joel noted in a 2021 chat with USA Today.
“We’ve lowered some of the keys because of my age,” he explained. “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.”
Since his last album in 2001, ’Fantasies & Delusions,’ Billy Joel has only released singles, including 2024’s ’Turn the Lights Back On.’ He ruled out talks of retirement after ending his Madison Square Garden residency over the summer while adding that he’s not looking to record a new album.
The singer is now set to start a new tour with dates in the U.K. and U.S., beginning at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on January 17, 2025.
