I’m probably writing music now for the same reason as I started writing songs when I was 14 – to meet women. – 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
Artists – 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
Those who have expressed doubts and misgivings about their ability to live this kind of life shouldn’t try, because being a musician is not something you chose to be, it is something you are. – Billy Joel
There’s a deep-seated paranoia that Americans have about not being Americans or something. – 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
I am, as I’ve said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary. – 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
I have been both praised and criticized. The criticism stung, but the praise sometimes bothered me even more. To have received such praise and honors has always been puzzling to me. – Billy Joel
Musicians now find themselves in the unlikely position of being legitimate. At least the IRS thinks so. – 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
Twyla Tharp put it together from the material I wrote and recorded over my whole career. I thought it was pretty good, but how objective could I be? – Billy Joel
There’s nothing better than good sex. But bad sex? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better than bad sex. – Billy Joel