The Piano Man still wants to play, but it’s not clear when or if he’ll be able to sing again for, as the song goes, “the regular crowd.”
Billy Joel, who has been battling a brain disorder for more than a year, says his doctor has advised him to remain on an extended break from what’s been his job for six decades — performing.
“What the neurologist told me, every time you do a show, it’s like you’re getting a concussion,” Joel said in an interview Thursday with The Hollywood Reporter.
Joel, who is 77, said the doctors are concerned performing before thousands of fans is taking a toll on him.
“Rock ‘n’ roll is loud, man,” Joel said. “Rock ‘n’ roll made me deaf already. So it’s the lighting, the sound, the stress of the show, the audience, the energy of the performance. There’s a lot going on when you’re onstage.”
“So they have to test me further to see if I can go back and do performing again, which I would like to be able to do,” he said.
That said, Joel insisted his health “is good” and downplayed the effects of hydrocephalus, which he was diagnosed with in May 2025.
It’s a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull and presses on the brain, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The condition is often treatable and sometimes reversible.
“It used to be called water on the brain, so it affects your balance, it affects your memory, it affects your vision, your hearing,” he said. “But I’m OK. They call it a brain disorder, but it’s not that serious. It’s just something that affects your balance mostly.”
Joel provided an update on his condition ahead of a Gooding Christie’s auction on Nov. 20 and 21 at the Javits Center in New York City where more than 70 motorcycles from his collection will be sold to the highest bidder.
The money will go to support the Joel Foundation, which supports music education, women’s health programs, humanitarian relief and other causes.
Joel said the hydrocephalus was a factor in his decision to part with his motorcycles, as the condition makes driving difficult.
“I love motorcycles,” he said. “I love biking. I love driving. I love the anonymity of it. And I love the customization of these bikes, the modifications, the messing around with things. I was not a collector. I was actually a rider.”
And being on a bike was also a source of musical inspiration, he added.
“I mean, everything helps me to write songs,” Joel said. “But I wrote a song called, I think it’s called “You May Be Right,” where I said I even rode my motorcycle in the rain, which people from England would go, ‘Yeah, so what?’”
Last month, Joel revealed he underwent brain surgery after he was diagnosed, because he didn’t want to lose his “marbles.”
Speaking on his SiriusXM channel, Joel admitted he initially balked at going under the knife after being told that it involved having a surgeon “drill a hole through your skull” and “stick a shunt inside your brain.”
“I didn’t want to do that,” Joel said. “But then I read up on it, and I realized it can help improve your balance and can help your memory. You know, I don’t want to lose my marbles.”