Despite two well-publicized stints in rehab in 2002 and 2005, Billy Joel thinks that alcoholism was never at the root of his personal struggles.
In an interview with the New York Times, Joel explains that his drinking and depression came from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“I was kind of in a mental fog, and it had nothing to do with the booze,” Joel said. “My mind wasn’t right. I wasn’t focused. I went into a deep, deep depression after 9/11. 9/11 just knocked the window out of me, and I don’t know even now if I’ve recovered from it.
“It really, really hurt that man could do that to man, “Joel continued. “”I used booze as medication.”
Joel also opened up about the three serious car accidents he was involved in during a period of two years. In 2002, Joel escaped injury when he crashed his car in the East Hamptons. Later that same year, Joel ran his car into a tree, and in 2005, the singer ran off a slippery road and hit a house on Long Island.
“The first accident, there was no booze involved,” Joel said. “The second accident was over here on the way out of town. It’s called Dead Man’s Curve, and it was black ice; that wasn’t drinking, either. The car slid and smashed into a tree. “
“I went to rehab in ’05 because, when I was with [my ex-wife] Katie [Lee], she said, ‘You’re drinking way too much.’ I never had a D.U.I. in my life. That’s another fallacy. Look at the police records.”
The “Piano Man” singer also spoke about why he pulled out of a deal to pen his memoir in 2011.
“They wanted more sex, rugs and rock ‘n’ roll, and there’s not that much of that in my life,” Joel said. “I wasn’t interested in doing a tell-all. I’m not going to talk about people who I was involved in relationships with. I’m just not that kind of guy.”
