Why Billy Joel Has Turned down So Many Star-Studded Collaborations—Except for One

Billy Joel’s talent and savviness have ultimately garnered him the very thing every artist aims for— Total Independence. Total independence on musical decisions, touring decisions, business decisions, and whatever other decisions need to be made. That being so, Joel’s self-governance applies to who he wants to work with as well. And if you know Joel very well, you know his list of collaborations is far shorter than any other major artist.

Billy Joel’s particularness doesn’t derive from the typical negative sentiments often tagged with stories of this nature. Rather, it simply comes about due to his need to see his own ideas come to fruition. As he has proved, Joel’s songwriting and musical arrangements are irreplaceably unique. Thus, when Joel chooses to collaborate with another artist it seems his musical autonomy needs to be protected. Hence his resistance to participating in star-studded collaborations.

The “Why” Behind Billy Joel’s Reluctance

Billy Joel sat down for an episode of The Howard Stern Show in 2021 to discuss many topics including the matter at hand. When Stern generally asked Joel why he doesn’t collaborate regularly, Joel gave a well-articulated and extensive answer. Joel told Stern, “I like being able to guide people…but I don’t want to get hooked into having to write again if it’s not my own idea” and “It’s not going to be very good if I don’t want to do it.”

Subsequently, Joel also shared why he hasn’t collaborated with big names when they’ve approached him. When attesting to the near collaboration with John Oates, Joel simply said, “I couldn’t figure out what to do.” Furthermore, when reflecting on the time Burt Bacharach asked him to write lyrics for one of his songs, Joel said, “I’m the guy who writes the music first” and “I don’t write lyrics off the cuff.”

With all that in mind, Joel politely denied two of the 20th-century’s most important popular music figures. However, he would step outside of his normal tendencies to collaborate with someone seemingly outside of his musical wheelhouse—Cyndi Lauper.

Joel, Lauper, and The “Code of Silence”

In his interview with Stern, Joel expressed “The only person I’ve ever actually collaborated with was Cyndi Lauper.” Due to the help she provided him on the song, she is the only living person who has received a co-writing credit on one of Billy Joel’s songs, according to Joel himself.

The collaboration between the two came out on Joel’s 1986 album, The Bridge. Despite its routine chart performance, it’s still a noteworthy song thanks to it being one of his only notable recording collaborations to date.

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