Billy Joel clarifies the reason behind the 17-year gap in his music creation.
The 74-year-old Piano Man singer disclosed his self-critical approach to songwriting, attributing his return to music to Freddy Wexler, his collaborator on “Turn the Lights Back On.”
“I have this high bar that I set for myself. If I don’t reach that bar, I beat myself up and I punch myself and I hate myself. So I stopped doing [music] because I got tired of feeling like that,” Joel admitted on the Audacy Check-In podcast.
He acknowledged that the solitary nature of songwriting, when done independently, can feel “lonely,” a sentiment contrary to his desired collaborative music creation process.
“The whole point of why I got into music in the first place — same reason [Wexler] did — it was fun,” the singer explained. “Music is fun. Rock N’ Roll was fun.”
“It was all about having fun — and I kind of lost that,” he added. “And I turned the lights off because it wasn’t fun anymore.”
Joel experienced a transformative shift when his family doctor facilitated a serendipitous encounter with Wexler. Witnessing Wexler’s work reignited Joel’s passion for songwriting, symbolized by their collaborative track titled “Turn the Lights Back On.”
“The melody, the chords, the chord progression, even the time signature was something that struck me immediately, and that’s how I relate to music,” Joel said of the tune for his new single “Turn the Lights Back On.
The lyrics seamlessly flowed as Joel embraced the melody. Expressing familiarity, he stated, “I’ve had these thoughts, chewed on these words before. It was all falling into place—why resist?”
Joel released the track, initially teased on Instagram on Jan. 22, on Thursday. The lyrics suggest a love ballad and convey a heartfelt message to his devoted fans patiently anticipating new music.
The “She’s Got a Way” singer is slated to debut the song live at the 66th annual Grammy Awards, airing on CBS and Paramount+ on Feb. 4.
