Billy Joel

“I sold my house to Jerry Seinfeld.”

“I was drawn to boxing because I got beat up as a kid. I was the kid with the piano books in a New York neighbourhood.”

“And in the eveningAfter the fire and the lightOne thing is certain: Nothing can hold back the lightTime is relentlessAnd as the past disappearsWe're on the verge of all things new”

“Like family, we are tied to each other. This is what all good musicians understand.”

“I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints - the sinners are much more fun.”

“Have you listened to the radio lately? Have you heard the canned, frozen and processed product being dished up to the world as American popular music today?”

“When I look at great works of art or listen to inspired music, I sense intimate portraits of the specific times in which they were created.”

“And the waitress is practicing politicsAs the businessmen slowly get stonedYes, they're sharing a drink they call lonelinessBut its better than drinkin' alone”

“Artists - musicians, painters, writers, poets - always seem to have had the most accurate perception of what is really going on around them, not the official version or the popular perception of contemporary life.”

“Musicians now find themselves in the unlikely position of being legitimate. At least the IRS thinks so.”

“I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.”

“I have been both praised and criticized. The criticism stung, but the praise sometimes bothered me even more. To have received such praise and honors has always been puzzling to me.”

“...And you're the only one who knows.”

“So I would choose to be with you,That's if the choice were mine to make,But you can make decisions too,And you can have this heart to break”

“If you make music for the human needs you have within yourself, then you do it for all humans who need the same things. You enrich humanity with the profound expression of these feelings.”

“We are living in a time when American popular music is finally being recognized as one of our most successful exports. The demand is huge.”

“It's really hard to make a living as a musician. It's almost impossible.”

“For whatever reason, not all people are born with the particular gift of being able to express ourselves through music. And, believe me, it is a gift.”

“I think historically America has been pretty tolerant. It seems when there's a mass influx from one place, that's when it becomes problematic for Americans.”

“When I was 19, I made my first good week's pay as a club musician. It was enough money for me to quit my job at the factory and still pay the rent and buy some food. I freaked.”