Billy Joel Admits He Never Liked His Own Voice, Debuts Unheard Tune in New Radio Interview with John Mayer

Billy Joel will be featured on the debut episode of a new radio interview series hosted by John Mayer called How’s Life that will premiere at 8 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving, November 28, on SiriusXM’s Life with John Mayer channel. On the show, Mayer chats with Joel about a variety of topics, including the Piano Man’s inspirations, touring, songwriting, his insecurities about his own musical talents, and much more.

Joel also debuts a previously unheard piece of music that he wrote “years and years” ago.

“I always wanted to sing like somebody else,” he told Mayer. “I would go in the studio, and I’d do a recording. I’d come back into the control room and listen and go, ‘Oh God, it’s that guy,’ and I was always disappointed. No matter how good I thought the writing was, I never liked my own voice.”

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Billy also revealed the names of various other singers he respects who he’ll sometimes will try to emulate while performing.

“Ray Charles, Sting, people with … these wonderful voices,” Joel explained. “Even Elvis Costello sometimes. I’m trying to channel him. It’s all over the place.”

Billy Joel on His Aversion to Writing New Songs

Although he did release a new song in 2023, “Turn the Lights Back On,” Joel has for years that he no longer gets enjoyment from writing new tunes. Billy explained to Mayer that one reason he’s finds it difficult to come up with new songs is that he’s overly critical of his own work and that of others.

“The writer thing is a curse that you take with you throughout life,” he maintained. “And when I listen to material, or listen to other people’s songs, the writer is always at work. ‘Well, I would’ve done it this way,’ or ‘Why did he go to that chord?’ and constantly trying to improve on what you did.”

Joel continued, “When you’re writing early on, you’re not editing as much as you do later on. The more you write, the better you get, but then you get to a point where you’ve gotten good enough so that nothing is good enough.”

Joel also revealed that whenever he’s written songs, he’s always composed the music first, with one exception.

“I never write down lyrics until I’m actually songwriting,” he explained. “I start from the music first, always, except [for] ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire.’ I wrote the words first [for that].”

Mayer’s Performance History with Joel

Mayer has made guest appearances at a number of Joel’s concerts over the years. Most recently, he took the stage at Billy’s October 12 show at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. At that gig Mayer played guitar on a rendition of Joel’s 1986 hit “This Is the Time.”

Mayer previously had played “This Is the Time” with Joel in New York City at Billy’s Madison Square Garden residency show in October 2015 and at one of Joel’s famous final Shea Stadium concerts in July 2008.

Joel’s Upcoming Concerts Plans

Joel has 11 confirmed upcoming concerts lined up for 2024 and 2025.

His next performance, and final gig of 2024, is a New Year’s Eve show December 31 in Elmont, New York. Joel’s first 2025 concert is a January 17 headlining performance in Hollywood, Florida. He also has four upcoming joint dates with Sting. They’re scheduled for February 8 in Indianapolis; April 11 in Syracuse, New York; May 10 in Charlotte, North Carolina; and May 23 in Salt Lake City.

In addition, the Piano Man has headlining concerts scheduled for February 22 in Uncasville, Connecticut, and March 15 in Toronto. Meanwhile, Joel will team up with Stevie Nicks for a March 29 show in Detroit.

Rounding out his current itinerary are a pair of 2025 U.K. headlining concerts in the U.K. They’re scheduled for June 7 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and June 21 in Liverpool, England.

Tickets for Joel’s forthcoming concerts can be purchased now via a variety of outlets, including StubHub.

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