Billy Joel Discusses Why He Stopped Songwriting

It’s been over three decades since Billy Joel released his last rock album, 1993’s critically acclaimed River of Dreams. The prolific songwriter has put down his pen since then and in a recent interview, shared that it was because he didn’t want to “dilute” his legacy.

When speaking to fellow musician Rick Beato, Joel said that after releasing River of Dreams, he “felt like I was done.” “I was married [to Christie Brinkley], I had a child. I didn’t want to lock myself in a cave and devote myself like a monk to writing anymore,” he continued. He added that after making 12 albums, he thought: “‘You know what? The Beatles had 12 albums.’ And that was just enough for me.”

Joel said that some artists who continued to put out records “dilute their legacy.” “Maybe they’re not as good as they used to be or they’re not as motivated as they were, but it ends up trailing off,” he said. “I didn’t want to go like that.”

While Joel may be on a songwriting hiatus, the musician did release a classical album, Fantasies & Delusions in 2001. “I was ready to do that and it was something I had to get out of my system,” he said of his 12th studio album. “I didn’t want to just keep beating a dead horse and being played because I was Billy Joel. I wanted it to be good, and I recognized that I didn’t have the same motivation that I used to have so I said, ‘Stop. Don’t kill it.’”

Joel hasn’t completely resisted songwriting, either. He released his first original song in 17 years, “Turn the Lights Back On,” in 2024. Produced by Freddy Wexler, the tender ballad was written by Joel, Wexler, British songwriter Wayne Hector, and Arthur Bacon.