Quotes By Billy Joel
In an age of incompetence, I've been able to last in this crazy business. I actually know how to play my ax and write a song. That's my job.
Billy Joel
There's a deep-seated paranoia that Americans have about not being Americans or something.
Billy Joel
In a way, we are magicians. We are alchemists, sorcerers and wizards. We are a very strange bunch. But there is great fun in being a wizard.
Billy Joel
I am no longer afraid of becoming lost, because the journey back always reveals something new, and that is ultimately good for the artist.
Billy Joel
Why do musicians give so much time to charitable causes? The most humanitarian cause that we can give our time to is the creation and performance of music itself.
Billy Joel
When I look at great works of art or listen to inspired music, I sense intimate portraits of the specific times in which they were created.
Billy Joel
I did write a letter to the archdiocese who'd banned the song, Only the Good Die Young, asking them to ban my next record.
Billy Joel
I think historically America has been pretty tolerant. It seems when there's a mass influx from one place, that's when it becomes problematic for Americans.
Billy Joel
If you make music for the human needs you have within yourself, then you do it for all humans who need the same things. You enrich humanity with the profound expression of these feelings.
Billy Joel
Don't make music for some vast, unseen audience or market or ratings share or even for something as tangible as money. Though it's crucial to make a living, that shouldn't be your inspiration. Do it for yourself.
Billy Joel
Artist - musicians, painters, writers, poets, always seem to have had the most accurate perception of what is really going on around them, not the official version or the popular perception of contemporary life.
Billy Joel
Musicians now find themselves in the unlikely position of being legitimate. At least the IRS thinks so.
Billy Joel
I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.
Billy Joel
I keep telling people: Don't make me the poster boy for AA because I don't know a lot about sobriety, but I do know a lot about drinking.
Billy Joel
When I was a young musician, the only option available to pursue secondary education in music was to attend a classical conservatory.
Billy Joel
When I was 19, I made my first good week's pay as a club musician. It was enough money for me to quit my job at the factory and still pay the rent and buy some food. I freaked.
Billy Joel
I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.
Billy Joel