Bob Dylan’s Performance Advice for Billy Joel Is Easier To Follow Than You Might Think

Artists with incredibly vast and verbose catalogues, like Bob Dylan and Billy Joel, have to work harder than others to memorize the countless verses they’ve written over their decades-long careers. (And that’s coming from someone who’s learning Dylan’s catalogue for an upcoming benefit concert as we speak. He’s a wordy guy.)

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Interestingly, the bit of advice that Dylan offered to Joel about how he memorizes his music is easier to follow than you might think. Dylan’s technique also proves just how much of a performance is in the mind.

Bob Dylan’s Performance Advice For Billy Joel

Although they are certainly distinct from one another, Bob Dylan and Billy Joel occupy a similar space in popular music. Both artists have prioritized storytelling in their music, including clear narratives and interesting turns of phrase that are just as, if not more important than, the music itself. (Moreover, both artists haven’t been afraid to experiment with arrangements and musical styles.) With all these lyrics and uncommon movements, memorization gets tricky.

During a 1997 appearance on Late Night with David Letterman, Joel recalled meeting Dylan backstage while the “Piano Man” singer was performing in Milan, Italy. Joel thought of a question he had always wanted to ask Dylan, who, even by that point, had amassed a massive musical catalogue. “I said, ‘How do you do it, Bob? How do you remember all these words?’” Joel said. Adopting a Dylan-esque affectation, he continued, “‘Oh, that’s easy. Just go over in the dressing room and take a look on the coffee table.’”

“So, I look over on the coffee table, and there is a store-bought book, Bob Dylan’s The Songs of Bob Dylan. He’s got them all right there. He’s got this big book on the coffee table. And I say, ‘Well, okay, but how do you read the lyrics on-stage?’ He goes, ‘Well, I really can’t read them. I just feel good knowing they’re there.’ It’s like a security blanket. And I’ve actually started doing it. I put a little book of lyrics on the piano. Of course, you can’t dive into them in the middle of a song. But it just makes you feel a little bit better. There they are.”

The “Piano Man” Singer Struggled With Memory For Years

Bob Dylan’s memorization advice for Billy Joel is one we can all follow rather easily. By placing a “security blanket” of lyrics nearby, we can often trick our brains into feeling more confident. Nine times out of ten, it’s our own anxiety about forgetting the lyrics that makes those memory lapses occur. Sadly, sometimes that isn’t the case. And in May 2025, Joel made an announcement about his health that, ironically, had to do with memorization and live performances.

Joel announced he had been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, or NPH, which affects his hearing, vision, memory, and balance. He cancelled all upcoming performances. Even before the diagnosis, Joel had admitted to struggling with lyric recall. “Sometimes I’m watching people sing along, hoping they’ll guide me,” Joel said in an interview with BBC 2, per Daily Mail. He then described a concert in Toronto during which he forgot the words to “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

“I forgot the words, and then I just stopped the song,” Joel said. “Stop the music! Stop! And the crowd made this noise like, Ahhh. So, you know. It’s walking on a tightrope with that thing.”

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