Billy Joel Cancels All Concerts After Brain Disorder Diagnosis
'This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance,' reads a statement from Joel's team. 'Under his doctor's instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period. Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health.'
More from Rolling Stone
Metallica, Billy Joel Docs, Miley Cyrus Visual Album Lead 2025 Tribeca's Music-Heavy Lineup
'Billy Joel: And So It Goes' Documentary to Premiere at 2025 Tribeca Festival
New Billy Joel Doc on HBO Will Dive Into Subjects Not 'Explored Before'
'I'm sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience,' Joel says in a statement, 'and thank you for understanding.'
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus is a brain disorder where excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain's ventricles. '[It] can affect several brain-related abilities, including thinking and concentrating, memory, movement and more,' reads an explainer on the Cleveland Clinic's website. 'The symptoms of NPH look very much like those of dementia, but NPH is sometimes reversible.'
Joel's last concert took place on February 22 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Near the end of the show, he fell flat on his back after throwing his microphone stand to a crew member. But he quickly stood up and finished the set.
One month later, Joel announced that he was taking a four-month break from the road due to a 'medical condition' that required surgery and physical therapy. He planned on returning to the stage on July 5 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 'While I regret postponing any shows, my health must come first,' he told fans in a statement. 'I look forward to getting back on stage and sharing the joy of live music with our amazing fans. Thank you for your understanding.'
It's unclear if his medical issues at the time were related to Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus. The disorder affects roughly 0.2 percent of people in their seventies and causes gait issues, bladder control issues, and cognitive difficulties. It's most commonly addressed with a surgery where a device known as a shunt is implanted to remove the excess fluids.
'NPH is unusual among dementia-like conditions because it's often reversible,' according to the Cleveland Clinic. 'However, the chances of reversing this condition are highest with early diagnosis and fast treatment. Delays in diagnosis and treatment make it more likely that the damage to your brain from the pressure will be permanent, severe or both.'
Joel, 76, wrapped up his decade-long residency at Madison Square Garden in July 2024. In the months that followed, he continued to tour all across America and England, playing roughly twice a month. He hasn't released an album of new pop songs since 1993's River of Dreams, though in February 2024, he teamed up with songwriter/producer Freddy Wexler on the single ' Turn the Lights Back On.' He premiered the track at the Grammys that month and performed it live a handful of times, but it left his set in June and never reappeared.
Despite the lack of new material, Joel remains one of the most popular touring acts in the world. His planned summer tour included shows at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field in New York, and MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Tickets for all the shows will be refunded in full.
Best of Rolling Stone
The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs
All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
These are the Top 10 most streamed Billy Joel songs on Spotify
We're all in the mood for these melodies. Spotify compiled a list of the Top 10 most streamed Billy Joel songs for The Post — and the tune that took the crown pays homage to his supermodel ex. The 1983 hit 'Uptown Girl,' which Joel penned for his future wife, Christie Brinkley, landed in the No. 1 spot, according to the stats, compiled after the July 26th soundtrack album release for Joel's new HBO documentary 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes.' 'I wasn't even dating Christie when I started writing the song, I was dating Elle [Macpherson],' Joel once told Howard Stern. 'And then I started dating Christie and rather than it be about all these different girls, she became the 'Uptown Girl.'' 4 Spotify complied a Top 10 list of most streamed Billy Joel songs. Jack Forbes / NY Post Design The Top 10 most streamed Billy Joel songs on Spotify globally are: 'Uptown Girl' 'Piano Man' 'Vienna' 'She's Always a Woman' 'My Life' 'We Didn't Start the Fire' 'Just the Way You Are' 'It's Still Rock and Roll to Me' 'Only the Good Die Young' 'Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)' In the film, Brinkley, who was married to Joel from 1985 to 1994, said she enjoyed being his muse. 'It was fun to be having this whirlwind romance and having certain aspects of that turn into music,' she gushed. 'Piano Man,' in second place, was the six-time Grammy winner's first hit, released in 1973. It was inspired by characters Joel met at The Executive Room, the bar where he played when he and his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, moved to Los Angeles after his first record 'Cold Spring Harbor' flopped. 4 Joel's second wife, Christie Brinkley, is the subject of the first song on the list, 'Uptown Girl.' Getty Images Weber, who worked at the bar as well, was the one Joel refers to in the lyric 'the waitress is practicing politics' — and she told The Post how her now-famous serving gig came about. 'Bill didn't drive and when he went to work, I drove him and waited around to drive him home. John at the bar convinced me to be a cocktail waitress even though I had no experience,' she recalled. 'He knew we had little money and figured if I had to be there while Bill was working, I could make some money too.' The piano man, 76, who has been married four times, admitted that many of his hits were about Weber. 'They say 'Write what you know,' so I wrote what I knew. A lot of the songs were based on Elizabeth,' Joel, a Bronx native who grew up on Long Island, said in the film. 4 In the HBO documentary 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes,' Joel explains that his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, was his muse. Getty Images Two of the songs on the Top 10 list — 'She's Always a Woman' and 'Just the Way You Are' — are based on Weber. 'Oh, I couldn't answer how many songs are about me,' she said. 'We were just living our lives together and we never spoke of it.' The 1977 song 'Vienna,' which Joel wrote about visiting his father — who abandoned him when he was 8 — in the Austrian city in his 20s, came in third place. 4 Joel, a Bronx native who grew up on Long Island, sold more than 150 million records in his career. Getty Images Joel has sold over 150 million records in his career — making him one of the most popular recording artists on the planet — and it's not hard to understand why his songs still resonate, Weber said. 'The human condition has not changed since time began. We all fall in love, experience pain, sorrow and joy,' she said.
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Forbes
Billy Joel's Documentary Pushes Him Back Onto The Charts In A Major Way
Throughout July, HBO unveiled its two-part documentary about Billy Joel, titled Billy Joel: And So It Goes. The first episode was released on July 18, with the second following a week later. Now that the world is once again fixated on the Piano Man, interest in not just his life, but also his music, has soared. An uptick in sales and streams helps the beloved superstar return to the Billboard charts with not one, but two different projects. Billy Joel Fills Two Spots on the Billboard 200 Joel claims a pair of spaces on the Billboard 200 this week, as both Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II and The Stranger reenter the ranking of the most consumed albums in the United States. The singles-packed compilation returns at No. 145, while The Stranger, one of Joel's most successful studio albums, lands at No. 167. Both sets have spent well over a year on the tally and have previously cracked the top 10, though neither has reached No. 1. Billy Joel Reaches a Milestone on Rock & Alternative Chart The singer-songwriter also occupies two spots on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart, but in a slightly different manner. The Stranger returns to the list at No. 45, while Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II debuts at No. 37. As the compilation arrives, the hitmaker earns his milestone tenth appearance on the genre-specific ranking. The Stranger Sells More, Despite a Lower Ranking Joel's Greatest Hits compilation shifted 10,400 equivalent units in the latest tracking period, according to Luminate. The Stranger comes in not far behind, with slightly more than 9,600 equivalent copies moved. While the Greatest Hits set appears higher on the Billboard 200, The Stranger is actually the better seller. The lower-ranking effort sold just under 1,900 copies in America last week, as the impact from Joel's docuseries made a mark. Meanwhile, the compilation sold approximately 900 pure units, though it was the top performer on streaming platforms.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Justin Timberlake Addresses Tour Backlash With 'Debilitating' Health Revelation
Justin Timberlake wants his fans to know that he heard the social media backlash about his European leg of The Forget Tomorrow World Tour loudly and clearly. Still, there's something else he needs you to know. After wrapping up his final performance date on July 30 in Istanbul, Turkey, the 44-year-old singer revealed that he's been dealing with a 'debilitating' illness. The July 31 Instagram post began with a look back at his 'two incredible years' on the road as he decided to ' write something from the heart' to all of his followers. More from SheKnows Prince William's Appearance at Women's Soccer Final Feels Like a Response to 2023 Backlash While acknowledging that the tour has been 'the most fun, emotional, gratifying, physically demanding, and, at times, grueling experience,' he was also dealing with something serious offstage. 'As many of you know, I'm a pretty private person. But as I'm reflecting on the tour and festival tour – I want to tell you a little bit about what's going on with me,' Timberlake wrote in the caption. 'Among other things, I've been battling some health issues, and was diagnosed with Lyme disease—— which I don't say so you feel bad for me–– but to shed some light on what I've been up against behind the scenes.' 'If you've experienced this disease or know someone who has — then you're aware: living with this can be relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically,' he continued. 'When I first got the diagnosis, I was shocked for sure. But at least I could understand why I would be onstage and in a massive amount of nerve pain or just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness. I was faced with a personal decision. Stop touring? Or keep going and figure it out.' Per the Cleveland Clinic, Lyme disease is 'an infection that happens when an infected tick bites a human. The condition can cause joint pain. Antibiotics treat Lyme disease. Even after treatment, some symptoms may linger.' For Timberlake, he 'decided the joy that performing brings me far outweighs the fleeting stress my body was feeling.' Even though he was 'reluctant' to talk about his diagnosis, the former NSYNC star admitted that he's 'trying to be more transparent about my struggles so that they aren't misinterpreted.' It's likely that the TikTok videos that captured Timberlake's weaker moments onstage were a direct result of his Lyme disease. European fans were critical when Timberlake seemingly continued to take a break while singing 'Can't Stop The Feeling' from the 2016 movie, Trolls. He let the audience do the performing while he half-heartedly did some dance moves. A Daily Mail insider claimed that the singer was 'in a rut' and 'needs to do something new' — but perhaps he needed to be honest with what he was going through. Medical privacy is important for everyone, but Timberlake's revelation might have been better addressed while the tour was going on — his fans would have certainly been empathetic to the situation. Instead, they felt slighted at some concert stops, and it caused a whole buzz on the internet which could have been avoided. Before you go, click for more documentaries about strong women in music. Best of SheKnows Tom Cruise's Full Dating History Is Filled With Many A-List Women Who Is Pamela Anderson Dating? Inside Her Relationship History All the Best Fashion Moments from Lindsay Lohan's Acting Comeback Solve the daily Crossword
