Billy Joel: Addiction, Love, and the Music That Kept Him Alive

Billy Joel And So It Goes Part 2 Review: As the final notes of And So It Goes echo across the closing scenes of HBO’s two-part documentary, Billy Joel sits quietly at his piano—no crowd, no band, just the man and the keys that have defined his life. With glassy eyes and a half-smile, he admits, “I may not ever figure it all out. But I’m tryin’.” It’s a simple line. And yet, for Joel—who turned 76 this year—it says everything.

“Billy Joel: And So It Goes” Part 2 picks up in 1982, the moment a motorcycle accident threatened to silence the Piano Man for good. What unfolds is a raw, intimate portrait of survival: through heartbreak, bankruptcy, addiction, and rediscovery. It is not a nostalgic walk through hits. It is a reckoning.

This article was informed by the author's review of ‘Billy Joel: And So It Goes – Part 2’ and decades of coverage on Joel’s career.

Watch the official trailer: Billy Joel’s story, from heartbreak to redemption.

The Father Wound That Never Healed

Before the stadiums, before the superstardom, before Piano Man, there was just Billy and a silence he couldn’t shake: his father’s absence. Howard Joel fled the family when Billy was still a boy. The loss scarred him deeply, becoming a ghost that haunted his lyrics and a force that fueled his drive.

In Vienna, a song Joel wrote as a young man, listeners hear a yearning not just for purpose, but for peace. That song was for his father, whom he later found—of all places—in Vienna, distant and emotionally unreachable. Their strained relationship would never quite heal. Joel tried. Repeatedly. Until Howard’s death in 2011.

Billy Joel with his mother Rosalind Nyman Joel (left) and father Howard Joel (right). His complicated relationship with his father, who fled Nazi Germany and later settled in Vienna, is explored in the HBO documentary.

There is pain in Joel’s voice when he says, “No matter what, I will always be a Jew.” The line isn’t just about identity—it’s resistance, legacy, and a tribute to his father’s survival under Hitler’s regime. During a 2017 concert, Joel pinned a yellow Star of David to his lapel in protest of white supremacy after the Charlottesville rally. It was one of the few times he let his politics speak so loudly on stage.

A Supermodel and a Thanksgiving Turkey

Then and now: Billy Joel with supermodel Christie Brinkley during their marriage in the 1990s (left), and with current wife Alexis Roderick in the 2020s (right), highlighting the personal evolution chronicled in his HBO documentary.

When Billy Joel met Christie Brinkley in St. Barts, he was exhausted—physically and emotionally. He had just wrapped The Nylon Curtain tour and was seeking solace. What he found was something more surprising: love.

Their courtship, immortalized in “Uptown Girl,” felt like a fantasy—an everyman New Yorker landing the world’s most glamorous supermodel. But their real story wasn’t about appearances. It was about connection. Brinkley recalls, “There was something sweet and old-fashioned about him.” Joel, smiling in vintage home videos, simply calls her “a muse.”

Together, they had daughter Alexa Ray and captured a version of domestic bliss—singing songs in the car, carving turkeys, dancing on boats. But behind the smiles, darkness crept in.

Betrayal, Alcohol, and a Dangerous Spiral

A young Billy Joel performing in the 1970s. His raw, energetic early shows laid the foundation for a career that would span more than five decades.

Brinkley wasn’t just Joel’s wife—she was his reality check. When she discovered that Joel’s manager (and former brother-in-law) Frank Weber had squandered millions of his earnings, she raised the alarm. Joel didn’t want to believe it.

“He trusted Frank more than he trusted me,” Brinkley says tearfully in the film.

The betrayal cut deep. Joel filed a $90 million lawsuit against Weber in 1989. But the emotional cost went further. The years that followed brought albums like Storm Front and River of Dreams, but also a heavy drinking problem. Alcohol dulled the pain, but it also numbed the joy.

“I don’t think he knew how he could hurt people,” Brinkley reflects. They divorced in 1994 after nearly a decade together.

Years later, Joel would again try to find comfort in marriage—this time with chef Katie Lee, who was 32 years his junior. But his old demons followed. Depression. Isolation. Addiction. That marriage ended, too.

A Lasting Love and a Second Chance

Then came Alexis Roderick, a former Morgan Stanley executive. Their 2015 wedding was quiet, held at Joel’s Long Island estate, officiated by none other than New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Together, they have two young daughters, Della Rose and Remy Anne. And perhaps for the first time in a long while, Joel seems anchored. “I still believe in love,” he says simply.

There’s a softness in his demeanor now—a man no longer chasing hits or headlines, just the next breath, the next melody.

From Sandy to the Garden: A Decade of Reinvention

Billy Joel with ex-wife Christie Brinkley and their daughter Alexa Ray Joel. Despite their divorce, the former couple maintained a supportive relationship while co-parenting their only child.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy devastated Joel’s beloved Long Island. For a while, he stayed silent, unsure if he had anything left to offer. Then came the 12-12-12 benefit concert. Joel returned to the stage at Madison Square Garden, looked out at the sea of faces, and thought: There’s still gas in the tank.

That single show sparked a historic monthly residency at MSG—100 consecutive sellouts over a decade. No other artist has come close.

Each concert ended the same way: Joel at the piano, harmonica in hand, playing the first notes of Piano Man. The crowd would erupt. And for a moment, the years would vanish.

A Musician’s DNA: Broadway, Doo-Wop, and New York Soul

From classical influences in The Nylon Curtain to doo-wop inspirations in An Innocent Man, Joel’s genre versatility has always defied trends. He’s a musical chameleon, but one rooted firmly in place.

“He was a bridge and tunnel artist, as I count myself as,” Bruce Springsteen says in the documentary. “We stuck to a lot of where we came from in what we wrote about, but we wrote about it using slightly different tools. I’m obviously more identified with New Jersey, so I came more out of a folk rock-and-roll background. Billy is still more identified with New York—he had all that Broadway and Tin Pan Alley, which is why his melodies are better than mine.”

Critics Respond to Joel’s Final Chapter

The HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes has received significant attention from major outlets. Here are a couple of representative review comments:

From Variety, Danielle Solzman writes:

“Watching Billy Joel: And So It Goes, you get a real sense of just how tough it was for musicians trying to break into the industry. Joel's rise to fame didn't happen overnight, and his reflections on his early contracts paint a bleak picture of the music business in the 1970s.”

“Music Saved My Life”

The documentary doesn’t shy away from the harder truths. Joel discusses alcoholism and rehab, not with shame but clarity. He’s candid about suicidal thoughts, past breakdowns, and the frightening moments when he felt the music slipping away.

But it’s also about survival. Joel admits he doesn’t write as much anymore. “I said what I had to say,” he shrugs. And yet, when he plays—even now—something lights up inside him.

“Music saved my life,” he says. And you believe him.

Not Done Yet

Billy Joel: And So It Goes – Part 2 isn’t just a film about a legendary musician. It’s a story of resilience. Of getting knocked down—again and again—and choosing to stand back up, piano bench beneath you.

At 76, Billy Joel is still searching, still trying to figure it all out. But maybe that’s the point.

As he says, eyes misting, hands resting on the keys that never left him, “I’m not finished.”

And thank God for that.

Billy Joel FAQ's

What happened to Billy Joel’s father?
Howard Joel left the family when Billy was a child. Their relationship remained strained, though they reconnected briefly in Vienna. Howard died in 2011.

How many times has Billy Joel been married?
Billy Joel has been married four times: to Elizabeth Weber, Christie Brinkley, Katie Lee, and Alexis Roderick.

Did Billy Joel suffer from alcoholism?
Yes. Joel has openly discussed his battle with alcohol, especially in the 1990s and early 2000s, which he attributes in part to emotional trauma and career pressures.

What is Billy Joel doing now?
Joel recently completed a 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden and continues to perform selectively. He lives in Long Island with his wife Alexis and their two daughters.

What is Billy Joel’s most famous song?
While he has dozens of hits, “Piano Man” remains his signature song and is performed at the end of every concert.