A new HBO documentary is lifting the lid on Billy Joel‘s personal life and career, from his biggest musical moments to his struggles with money and alcohol.
The two-part docuseries And So It Goes premiered on HBO on Friday to acclaim from critics and fans alike.
According to Variety, the Honesty hitmaker wasn’t keen on doing the documentary at first, but his management eventually convinced him that ‘it was the right time’.
Despite his hestiations, the 76-year-old is an open book in the docuseries.
He dives into his failed marriages, battle with alcohol, financial troubles and much more.
A new HBO documentary is lifting the lid on Billy Joel’s personal life and career, from his biggest musical moments to his struggles with money and alcohol
The singer also opens up about pre-fame suicide attempts and his mother’s alcoholism.
And So It Goes has already gained glowing reviews from Rolling Stone, Variety, and Newsday.
The release of the docuseries comes Joel has been forgetting lyrics to his hit songs for at least a decade, after he announced he was having to cancel all planned concerts due to a brain disorder.
The Piano Man singer, 76, shared in May that he had been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).
The condition has impacted Joel’s ‘hearing, vision, and balance,’ according to the social media post.
A spokesperson for the singer said that his condition had been ‘exacerbated’ by recent performances.
The two-part docuseries And So It Goes premiered on HBO on Friday to acclaim from critics and fans alike
Normal pressure hydrocephalus is caused by too much fluid collecting in the ventricles, or spaces in the brain and spinal cord, putting pressure on these areas and triggering its symptoms, including struggling to walk, an inability to control the bladder and memory problems.
This happens because the excess fluid compresses and stretches the brain tissue, interfering with the control of muscles and communication between nerve cells.
Worried fans rushed to support the singer online after the announcement, which comes three months after Joel fell over while performing on stage in Connecticut.
It can now be revealed that Joel has admitted to struggling with memory problems going back more than a decade – after he famously forgot the words while singing We Didn’t Start The Fire at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre on March 9, 2014.
At the time, he told the audience the song is ‘one of the worst melodies I ever wrote’, and even stopped his band completely before fans cheered him on to complete the track.
Halting the performance, Joel said: ‘Wait a minute. That ain’t right. All you gotta do is f*** up one word in that song and it’s a train wreck.’
The release of the docuseries comes Joel has been forgetting lyrics to his hit songs for at least a decade due to a brain disorder
In an interview in 2023, Joel hinted it wasn’t a one-off, admitting he relied on the audience to make sure he as singing the right words to songs.
Speaking to Zoe Ball on BBC 2 radio’s breakfast show, he said: ‘Sometimes I’m watching people sing along, hoping they’ll guide me.’
Addressing the Toronto incident, he added: ‘I was in Toronto, and I forgot the words. And then I just stopped the song. “Stop the music! Stop…” And the crowd made this noise like, “Ahhhh…” So it’s, you know, it’s walking on a tightrope with that thing.’
When diagnosed early, NPH can often be effectively treated with surgery that drains excess fluid from the brain, relieving pressure and symptoms – but it can often be mistaken at an early stage for other illnesses such as dementia.
However, if left untreated, the condition may lead to permanent damage in its later stages.
Billy’s illustrious career as a musician began back in the mid-1960, which led to the release of debut studio album, Cold Spring Harbor (1971).
But it failed to gain any real traction until after the success of his follow-up, Piano Man (1973), that peaked at number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Adult Contemporary singles chart.
Now an established name on the musical landscape, Joel became a million seller with the release of Streetlife Serenade (1974), but his commercial breakout making him a bonafide star came with the release of The Stranger (1977), which featured the hit singles Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song), Just The Way You Are, She’s Always a Woman, The Stranger, and Only The Good Die Young.
He would go on to release a 13th album – Fantasies & Delusions (2001) – that features classical compositions from Joel, a first for him during his career.
With over 160 million records sold worldwide, Billy Joel is one of the world’s best-selling musical artists, and the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States.
