Billy Joel opens up about alcohol abuse, depression following 9/11

Singer Billy Joel told The New York Times about the future of his career and his struggles with alcohol and depression in the wake of 9/11.

Joel has not released new music in decades, but has continued to perform. Most recently, Joel stole the show at the 12-12-12 Sandy Relief Concert, which raised money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, a super storm that laid waste to the coasts of New York and New Jersey last fall.

The New York Times reports that while Elton John says Joel won’t write new music out of “fear and laziness,” the famed singer-songwriter actually isn’t interested.

“I don’t do it because I don’t wanna,” Joel said of writing new songs. He continued about his relationship with John saying, “He tends to shoot off his mouth — he shoots from the hip. I think his heart is in the right place. Maybe he’s trying to motivate me, to get me mad or something. He’s kind of like a mom.”

Joel also clarified that while he hasn’t written any new pop songs, he has written “piano pieces, orchestral music, dramatic pieces,” and “hymns” that he does not have words for yet.

“But I might,” Joel teased.

Though the “Piano Man” singer has been tight-lipped about his personal struggles, his battles with substance abuse and reckless driving have been very much in the public eye. Joel entered rehab in 2002 and 2005 following bouts of depression.

"I was kind of in a mental fog, and it had nothing to do with the booze. My mind wasn’t right. I wasn’t focused. I went into a deep, deep depression after 9/11. 9/11 just knocked the wind out of me,” Joel explained of his past mental health, as reported by The Huffington Post . “I don’t know even now if I’ve recovered from it."

In the interview, Joel admitted he "used booze as medication” to combat his depression, but refutes the idea that alcohol was the crux of the problem saying, “I don’t know why I drank so much. I don’t subscribe to A.A., I don’t subscribe to 12-step stuff. Sometimes I just overdid it.”

To read the full interview with Billy Joel, visit The New York Times

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