Billy Joel and Elton John haven’t at all times seen eye to eye.
Throughout the newly launched second a part of HBO’s “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” documentary, Joel revealed how John’s public push for him to enter rehab brought on a serious rift between the 2 music superstars.
“Elton had made a comment that he thought I needed real rehab,” the “Movin’ Out” singer mentioned within the new doc. “He chalked it up to, ‘Oh, he’s a drunk.’ And that really hurt me.”
“I said, wait a minute? Don’t you know me better than that?” Joel, 76, added. “And there was bad blood for a little while. There was a dovetailing of things that happened during that time.”
The “Piano Man” singer was referring to an interview John, 78, gave Rolling Stone in 2011 shortly after the pair toured collectively.
After John claimed that he and Joel had “so many cancelled tours” due to “illnesses” and “alcoholism,” he prompt that the “Captain Jack” singer search actual assist.
“He’s going to hate me for this, but every time he goes to rehab, they’ve been light,” the “Tiny Dancer” musician mentioned on the time. “I love you, Billy, and this is tough love.”
Recalling how he felt after John’s interview was printed, Joel mentioned that he was “clobbered” and had hit “rock bottom.”
“I was disillusioned with what I thought it was all supposed to mean,” he mentioned within the second a part of the brand new HBO doc. “It was like all the signs were pointing to me: Enough.”
“And I wrote this letter to the band,” he added. “‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m gonna stop.’”
Joel beforehand began rehab in 2005 following what he known as an “ultimatum” from his then-wife, Katie Lee.
He entered the Betty Ford Heart for a stint, then briefly stopped touring as soon as his time on the middle was over.
The “Vienna” singer has since give up consuming altogether.
“I stopped a couple of years ago,” Joel informed the Los Angeles Instances in 2023. “It wasn’t a big AA kick. I just got to a point where I’d had enough.”
“I didn’t enjoy being completely inebriated, and it probably created more problems in my life than I needed,” he added.
Elsewhere within the new “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” documentary, the Grammy-winner revealed that he didn’t like being in comparison with Elton John – even when they have been shut associates and frequent tourmates.
“Why would I wanna work with another well-known piano player’s band?” Joel mentioned whereas discussing an incident when some prompt he use John’s band.
“The lack of imagination was staggering,” he added. “And I was already having a critical issue with them comparing me to Elton.”
Extra just lately, Joel has made headlines for a stunning mind dysfunction analysis that has pressured the “Stranger” artist to cancel all his live shows via subsequent 12 months.
Known as regular stress hydrocephalus, the situation impacts one’s listening to, imaginative and prescient and steadiness.
Joel introduced that he was identified with regular stress hydrocephalus in Might, and he additionally revealed that he needed to cancel his 2025 tour as a result of his situation was “exacerbated by recent concert performances.”
Billy is present process particular bodily remedy and has been suggested to chorus from performing throughout this restoration interval,” a assertion from his workforce learn. “Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving.”
The message added that Joel is “grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage.”
Joel then opened up about his ‘scary’ mind dysfunction analysis earlier this month.
“I know a lot of people are worried about me and my health, but I’m okay,” he informed Folks in an interview printed July 21. “What I have is something very few people know about, including me, no matter how much you try to research it.”
“I’m doing my best to work with it and to recover from it,” he shared.
Sadly, the legendary songwriter’s analysis pressured him to overlook the world premiere of “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” when it performed on the 2025 Tribeca Movie Pageant in June.
Each components of HBO’s new Billy Joel documentary are actually streaming.
