I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints – the sinners are much more fun. – Billy Joel
Historically, musicians know what it is like to be outside the norm – walking the high wire without a safety net. Our experience is not so different from those who march to the beat of different drummers. – Billy Joel
You’re not the only one who’s made mistakes, but they’re the only things that you can truly call your own. – 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
The whole world loves American movies, blue jeans, jazz and rock and roll. It is probably a better way to get to know our country than by what politicians or airline commercials represent. – Billy Joel
We are living in a time when American popular music is finally being recognized as one of our most successful exports. The demand is huge. – Billy Joel
As human beings, we need to know that we are not alone, that we are not crazy or completely out of our minds, that there are other people out there who feel as we do, live as we do, love as we do, who are like us. – 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
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
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
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 consider myself to be an inept pianist, a bad singer, and a merely competent songwriter. What I do, in my opinion, is by no means extraordinary. – 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
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
Have you listened to the radio lately? Have you heard the canned, frozen and processed product being dished up to the world as American popular music today? – Billy Joel
For whatever reason, not all people are born with the particular gift of being able to express ourselves through music. And, believe me, it is a gift. – 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 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 was drawn to boxing because I got beat up as a kid. I was the kid with the piano books in a New York neighbourhood. – Billy Joel
