9/30/2026

Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium on November 9, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Billy Joel opened up about the brain disorder that has laid him low most of this year during his first-ever live call-in special on his SiriusXM The Billy Joel Channel last Thursday (Sept. 24), during which he also answered questions about his favorite songs and lyrics. The exclusive opportunity for fans of the “Piano Man” singer to directly ask him questions naturally featured one fan looking for an update on Joel’s diagnosis of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus last year.

After Dave from Pennsylvania said he hoped Joel, 77, was feeling better, a fan from Texas named Mary asked for a health update. “I know people are worried about me because they read that I have a brain disorder, which sounds a lot worse than it actually is,” said Joel. “I’m OK. My balance isn’t that good. Lost a little bit of my hearing, but that may have to do with my age, too, and the rock and roll life and the loud volume probably didn’t help. But I’m fine. I want people to not have to worry about me. I’m OK. And I appreciate your call.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer sounded bright and focused during the call-in — even gamely offering up his go-to bagel order and the inspiration for the name of his youngest daughter, Remy — taking calls from fans all over the country, sometimes accenting his answers with a bit of piano to jog his memory about his biggest hits and deep cuts. One call came from a woman in Pennsylvania who said she’d been diagnosed with NPH several years ago, and included the two bonding over her doctor’s recommendation that she get a shunt, a procedure Joel said he’d reluctantly agree to.

“I understand your trepidation about that particular procedure,” he told her. “When I was diagnosed with NPH they recommended a shunt be implanted. I asked them, ‘what does that entail? Well, ‘we drill a hole through your skull, then we shove a drain into your brain to drain off excess fluid.’ I said, ‘Nnnah, I think I’ll pass on that.'” As he’s previously said, he researched the procedure and finally agree, telling the caller that he had a “little bump” on his head afterward and noticed his cognition, hearing and balance were improved, recommending that she consider it if her condition was caught early enough.

Joel previously described going to see a doctor after suffering from balance problems that made him feel like he was “on a boat,” and his neurologist recommended implanting a shunt in his brain to relieve some the intracranial pressure.

While the shunt did help some of his symptoms, Joel’s doctors did suggest he consider giving up live performance because the physical effects of repeatedly playing loud rock shows could cause further damage to his brain. The call-in was the first chance fans had to ask Joel about the disorder that forced the cancellation of his planned 2025 tour.

Joel, who joked at the top that he’s got a “face made for radio,” also answered a call from a fan from Racine, Wisc. who wondered after performing with everyone from Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen to Olivia Rodrigo, was there anyone he never got a chance to play with that he regrets missing? “I would have liked to have performed with John Lennon. And when he was shot, that was a horrible, horrible thing for me,” Joel said of Lennon’s murder by a crazed fan on Dec. 8, 1980. “It was like, he was like my old brother, my older brother to me. So, John Lennon would have been one of them. I’m trying to think, I love Steve Winwood. I think he’s a terrific guy.”

He noted that they played together on “Getting Closer” from his 1986 The Bridge album, but never live. “I always admired Steve Winwood. I thought he was a great keyboard player, great singer,” Joel said. “Always loved his recordings, but that would have been somebody I would have liked to work with, too. Yes. Luckily, I got to work with some people like Ray Charles and McCartney and Sting, who’s a phenomenal musician.”

The chat also included Joel revealing the origin of his iconic 1973 Piano Man song “Captain Jack,” explaining to Mary that it was inspired by looking out the window of his Oyster Bay, Long Island apartment across from a housing project and watching drug deals take place. He then played the song’s bouncy baseline on piano, saying, “It’s a little bit symphonic of a theme and I always wanted to do something with that and the subject of the song seemed to fit with that particular team and that’s how it got written.”

The Billy Joel Channel will be available on channel 93 on satellite radios and through the SiriusXM app through Thursday (Oct. 1).

Listen to Joel talk Lennon, “Captain Jack” and his brain disorder below.

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