Billy Joel Speaks Up About Brain Disorder For The First Time
The 'Piano Man' singer assured everyone he was doing his best in a People magazine interview published Monday, about two months since he announced he had been diagnosed with a neurological condition called normal pressure hydrocephalus.
'I know a lot of people are worried about me and my health, but I'm OK,' he told the magazine. 'What I have is something very few people know about, including me, no matter how much you try to research it. I'm doing my best to work with it and to recover from it.'
Normal pressure hydrocephalus is a treatable brain condition caused by a buildup of excess cerebrospinal fluid. The condition can cause pressure inside the head and on brain tissue, leading to neurological complications that affect hearing, vision and balance.
For Joel, it was balance issues that first alerted him something was off.
'It was like being on a boat all the time,' he said.
While the singer-songwriter called his diagnosis 'disturbing,' he emphasized he wasn't dealing with anything life-threatening.
'It was scary, but I'm OK,' Joel said. 'I just wanted to let people know, don't worry about me being deathly ill or anything.'
The 'Uptown Girl' crooner struck a similarly optimistic tone while appearing on Monday's episode of the 'Club Random' podcast, where he told host Bill Maher, 'I feel good. They keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder, so it sounds a lot worse than what I'm feeling.'
Back in May, Joel's team announced he was canceling all upcoming concert dates on the advice of his doctors but shared he was 'undergoing specific physical therapy' for his health issue.
'Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage,' the statement went on.
Related...
Billy Joel Cancels Upcoming Tour Amid Lingering Health Issues
Christie Brinkley Shows Ex Billy Joel Love As Health Puts His Tour On Pause
Billy Joel Says His 'Health Must Come First' As He Postpones Tour
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Billy Joel reflects on what he learned from relationship with Christie Brinkley after ‘devastating' divorce
Billy Joel has divulged what it was like to fall in love with his second wife, Christie Brinkley. In part two of the 'Piano Man' singer's HBO documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, the two exes discussed what their relationship was like when they first started dating. The former couple first met in 1983 while on vacation in St. Barts. After discovering they both lived in New York City, they made plans to keep in touch and went on their first date to a Beach Boys concert. 'Here I am dating this beautiful supermodel and... me? I'm from Hicksville. What am I doing with her? What's she doing with me? But that was a very productive time for me,' Joel, 76, said in the documentary of his Long Island, New York upbringing. 'I wrote a lot of songs for her. She was a muse.' He continued, 'It was like being a teenager all over again. Experiencing those same emotions that I had when I was first discovering romance and love.' Brinkley said that while their 'whirlwind romance' was 'just so much fun' during the first few years, she noted the turning point was in 1989 when Joel released his 'I Go to Extreme' single. Describing the song, Brinkley said it reflected her husband 'boomeranging between being a family man and tortured artist' as he would sneak away in the middle of the night to drink. That same year, the 'Vienna' singer filed a $90 million fraud and breach of contract lawsuit against his former manager, Frank Weber. To regain the money, Joel had to adjust his tour, which further drove the wedge between Brinkley and their daughter Alexa. 'I was in a relationship with someone who I cared deeply about. But I was not able to be at home. I was not able to be with my family. It was a very sad time for me,' the 'Uptown Girl' singer said. 'I realized love is not concrete. You feel like it is, but there are things eating away at it. And in the end, it all catches up. It's hard. I was so devastated.' 'He said, 'Yeah, fine, go.' I tried. I wanted it to work,' Brinkley recalled one of their final fights. 'I knew how lucky I was, having music and all of that. But it just didn't work.' The two divorced in 1994 after being married for nine years. Joel went on to marry twice more for a total of four wives. He remains with Alexis Roderick, whom he married in 2015. They share two daughters: Della, 9, and Remy, 7. Brinkley has been married four times but remains closest to Joel and named her new memoir, 'Uptown Girl,' after the hit 1983 song inspired in part by her. She, too, has opened up about being with Joel. Brinkley told Page Six earlier this year: 'To be clear, I never wanted to end things with Billy,' she said. 'I read every self-help book I could find … we went to see a string of psychiatrists, psychologists and other medical doctors.' Brinkley also said she and Joel 'were probably really soulmates. It was an amazing time of my life.' Part two of Billy Joel: And So It Goes premieres Friday on HBO.


Forbes
16 minutes ago
- Forbes
‘Fantastic Four: First Steps' Defying Expectations At Weekend Box Office
Ebon Moss-Bachrach in "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." The Fantastic Four: First Steps, starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, is beating pre-release projections on its way to a $125 million opening at the domestic box office. The fourth film iteration of Marvel's First Family of Superheroes stars Pascal, Kirby, Quinn and Moss-Bachrach as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/The Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing, respectively. Rather than going the origin film route, director Matt Shakman picks up the story four years after a cosmic event during a space mission altered each of the scientists' DNA and gave them unique superpowers. The Fantastic Four: First Steps — which marks the characters' debut in Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe— earned an estimated $56 million on Friday and is projected by Deadline to earn $125 million in the film's opening Friday to Sunday frame. The film opened Friday in 4,125 North American theaters after playing in Thursday previews. If Deadline's $125 million opening weekend projection holds, it will match the same amount of money James Gunn's Superman earned from July 11-13. Released by Warner Bros.' DC Studios division, Superman opened on 4,135 screens in its opening weekend. To date, Superman has earned $264.6 million domestically and $172.7 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $437.2 million against a $225 million production budget before prints and advertising costs, according to The Numbers. David Corenswet in "Superman." 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Box Office Was Projected To Open Much Lighter Going into the weekend, three major Hollywood trade publications all projected The Fantastic Four: First Steps to open with anywhere between $100 million to $110 million domestically, an amount far below Superman's $125 million opening. As such, Disney and Marvel Studios will no doubt be celebrating the overperformance of the film after the lackluster showings of the studios' first two MCU releases of 2025: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thunderbolts* (aka The New Avengers). With the huge opening for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Superman will no doubt be kicked off the top of the domestic box office perch, but how far it will fall is yet to be seen. In the film's second weekend, from July 18-20, Superman held onto the No. 1 spot domestically with a take of $58.4 million. Since there are no other wide releases this weekend and Superman handily defeated last weekend's newcomers I Know What You Did Last Summer, Smurfs and Eddington, in all likelihood the latest Man of Steel film will finish at No. 2 at the domestic box office this weekend. Note: This box office report will be updated throughout the weekend as new numbers are released. The final numbers for this weekend's box office will be released on Monday.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Couple shocked to become rare parents to have quadruplets conceived naturally: ‘I didn't think it was gonna be four!'
This family got four times the cuteness. A New Jersey couple has defied the odds, welcoming quadruplets — all conceived naturally. Aja (pronounced Asia) Kennon and her fiancé, Emmanuel Volmar, recently became among the few people in the world to experience such an extraordinary pregnancy earlier this month. Kennon and Volmar were excited to expand their family — which already included an 8-year-old son, EJ — when they unexpectedly found out she was pregnant. She assumed that it might be twins because her belly had grown so large, but she was surprised when she saw three heads on the sonogram. 'I didn't think it was gonna be four!' Kennon told The Post. 'This was unexpected.' But it was a quartet of distinct heads, confirming a rare event with odds ranging from one-in-700,000 to one-in-a-million, doctors said. And the July 1 delivery itself was an extraordinary event, involving more than 20 medical professionals — each baby with their own dedicated medical crew at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey. 'There was a whole football team in there,' Volmar joked. Kennon easily popped out one healthy baby after the other, each about a minute apart, starting at 10:59 a.m. The miracle babies were all brought home right away, safe and sound. The boys — Ean, Evan and Eamon — share the same first initial 'E' with their dad, while the girl, Alayha, shares an 'A' with her mom. With twins running in both her and Volmar's families, it was meant to be — though, because they learned about the quadruplets on April Fools' Day, people didn't believe them at first. Perhaps even more shocking, Kennon had no complications during her high-risk pregnancy. She even kept working as a USPS mailwoman full-time until seven months into her pregnancy and thinks all the walking helped. 'I was surprised myself by how easy a pregnancy it was, honestly,' Kennon admitted, sharing that her first pregnancy was a bit more difficult, as EJ needed to be induced. Despite the overwhelming nature of raising quadruplets, the couple remains amazingly calm. 'Once we found out that we were having quadruplets, we immediately got the ball rolling. From the moment we found out, we were just, like, 'Okay, let's get the show on the road,'' Kennon said. The couple is now facing a whirlwind of joy and uncertainty as they begin to raise the newborns alongside their elementary schooler. The family, who initially planned for just one more child, quickly had to adjust to the reality of four cribs, quadruple the diapers — and an entirely new life. They've also decided to delay a wedding until all their children can walk down the aisle and participate. But, thanks to their pre-planning and support system — Volmar's mother has fortunately moved in for now — they've jumped into parenting five children quite easily. Reality check: Dad does admit that the feeding schedule is especially demanding. 'It's never-ending, and then before you know it, it's time to feed them again,' Volmar told The Post. But even EJ has happily stepped up, offering to feed the babies and change their diapers. And while he loves all his siblings equally, but has a special place in his heart for his sister. 'He's very delicate with his sister, like he'll make sure he kisses her on the head,' Kennon shared. To help with the financial burden, the family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover medical expenses, transportation and the costs associated with caring for quadruplets. 'We are overjoyed, filled with love and gratitude — but we'd be lying if we said we weren't overwhelmed, too,' Kennon wrote on the page. Their community has rallied around them as the news has spread. New Jersey area mom Facebook groups have flooded the comments of posts sharing the news. One woman whom Kennon hasn't spoken to since high school even reached out and asked to coordinate a meal train to help out. Fortunately, thanks to their pre-planning and local support, they've settled into parenting five children very well. According to BECU and the National Diaper Bank Network, they'll likely spend about $4,000 a year on diapers alone. But luckily, they haven't even needed to buy diapers or wipes yet: They have a closet filled with supplies — all donated or gifted. 'Everybody's as shocked as we were when we found out,' Kennon said, joking, 'We're pretty much the center of attention.' Solve the daily Crossword