Tragic Details About Billy Joel

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The following article includes details of depression and suicide.

Long Island native Billy Joel didn't graduate with his high school class; he was apparently one credit short of receiving his diploma. He eventually received an honorary degree from Hicksville High School in 1992, but at 18, Joel turned his back on school to focus on music. "I told them, 'The hell with it, if I'm not going to Columbia University, I'm going to Columbia Records,'" he told author Hank Bordowitz for his biography, "Billy Joel: The Life and Times of an Angry Young Man." "'You don't need a high school diploma over there.'"

And so was forged the "Piano Man," a New York crooner and rock-pop royalty, who erected his throne from legendary studio albums — the last shifting to classical. By no means has it been smooth sailing on "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" for the musician. He's faced heartbreak, depression, and health issues, among other hardships. Joel has been open about his struggles in his early career and the aftermath of decades in the spotlight.

Billy Joel's family history reads like a Shakespearean tragedy. Coming from Jewish descent, his mother and father split when Joel was 7, with the latter leaving America entirely to live in Europe, the singer told The Sunday Times. His dad, Howard (real name Helmut), grew up in Nazi Germany, where Joel's grandfather, had a booming mail-order textile business. Detailed in the book "Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography," by Fred Schruers, Joel's grandfather was purportedly forced to forfeit the ownership of his business and the deed to his house (via WOGB). Joel told The Times that as a result, his father was a very unhappy man. "I remember he sat down with me one day and he said, 'Son, life is a cesspool,'" Joel said. "I had no idea what a cesspool was, but it didn't sound very nice."

In a 1992 interview, the "Movin' Out" hitmaker discussed how he felt like an outcast as a child without a father. "There was no breadwinner, so our situation went downhill pretty fast," he said. "I was different than the other kids because they had dads. And I remember, especially like a lot of guys my age, there was a dynamic with their fathers that I actually didn't have." One connection he did have with his father was music. Howard was a classic pianist, an instrument that's synonymous with his son's music career.

According to Billy Joel, "The best expression of my life and its ups and downs has been and remains my music" (via billyjoel.com). That's poignantly evident in one of Joel's heart-shattering ballads, "Tomorrow is Today." In 2016, he told SiriusXM that the song was a candid admission that he no longer wanted to live — a suicide note. "I was really depressed at the time I wrote that," Joel said (via Songfacts). "I was 21, and I was just bummed out."

Joel recalled to Parade Magazine that he attempted to end his life twice, once at 20 and again at 21. "I felt the last thing the world needed was another failed itinerant musician, so I popped a bunch of pills," Joel admitted, per the Los Angeles Times. When that didn't work, the star tried ingesting furniture polish. After that, Joel checked himself into the hospital, where he gained a new perspective on his life. "It was a great insight, because I realized my situation was nothing compared to [others in the institution]. I knew I'd never feel that sorry for myself again."

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Depression was the catalyst for Billy Joel's drinking, too. He told The New York Times in 2013 that after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he was left in a state of despair. "I used booze as medication," he said. Joel explained that his drinking normally coincided with problems in his personal life, including breakups and divorce — alcohol even took his failed marriage with Christie Brinkley from bad to worse.

The singer-songwriter twice went to rehab for his substance abuse: once in 2002, which never led to any recovery. "The second time was at Betty Ford [in 2005], which was not a lot of fun. I was drinking too much," he told Parade Magazine in 2018. "I said, 'This time I'm going to stick it through for a month.' It was one of the best things I ever did."

At the time of his New York Times interview, Joel said he would still have the occasional glass of wine with a meal. However, he told the Los Angeles Times in 2023 that he quit alcohol entirely. "I stopped a couple of years ago," he said. "It wasn't a big AA kick. I just got to a point where I'd had enough."

Billy Joel has seemingly always had a beautiful woman on his arm, marrying four times over the course of his career. Aside from his relationship with his wife Alexis Roderick, whom he married in 2015, Joel's marriages ended in either heartbreak or significant financial loss. His first marriage to Elizabeth Weber, who was also his manager in the '70s, ended in betrayal. According to details in "Billy Joel: A Definitive Biography," Elizabeth attempted to convince Joel to sign over everything to her while he was in the hospital after a near-fatal motorcycle accident. "When I finally understood what was in that deal, I said, 'No f**king way—I'm in a hospital bed and you're shedding crocodile tears and bringing me a contract that completely screws me?'" he recalled to author Fred Schruers.

Years later, while married to Christie Brinkley, Joel discovered that Elizabeth's brother, Frank Weber, whom he appointed as his manager after his divorce from Elizabeth, stole nearly $30 million of his earnings, per the Los Angeles Times. Joel sued him for $90 million in 1989 and won $2 million in 1990, per Buffalo News. He told The New York Times in 2013 that it was much more about the "emotional betrayal" than the money lost.

His next two marriages were less financially crippling, though still bleak. His divorce from Brinkley came around the time Joel stopped producing popular music, which likely affected his net worth. In 2009, Joel divorced Katie Lee, who received the couple's near $6 million Manhattan townhouse, which she sold in 2011 for $11.65 million.

Despite his contentious relationships, Billy Joel has seemingly found love with his current wife Alexis Roderick and settled into his life. In 2023, Joel purchased a house in Florida and announced the end to his residency at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 2024. But it wasn't the end of his music career; Joel was still playing shows across America with fellow industry greats like Stevie Nicks and Sting. Then, in May 2025, Joel made a heartbreaking announcement. In an Instagram post, Joel's team wrote, "Billy Joel has announced that he will be cancelling all scheduled concerts following a recent diagnosis of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH)." According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, NPH is a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid, which could damage the brain.

It's clear he has an abundance of support from those close to him. His daughter, Alexa Ray, whom he shares with ex-wife Christie Brinkley, shared a heartfelt message about her father on Instagram. "We love you and we got you, Pop!" she wrote. Brinkley even posted on Instagram, writing: "We all want you back in that white hot spotlight. You're OUR piano man."

Luckily, Joel has no plans to give up his career, despite his health issues. "He is not retiring and hopes to be able to resume performing as his recovery progresses," an insider told People. It sounds like the mic will stay hot for the music legend.