Billy Joel’s Admission to Bill Maher About Classical Music: ‘I Get Stoned From It’

Billy Joel’s Admission to Bill Maher About Classical Music: ‘I Get Stoned From It’ originally appeared on Parade.

Bill Maher took his podcast Club Random on the road to Boca Raton, Florida, where he got to sit down with the iconic musician and piano player, Billy Joel.

When the 76-year-old announced a couple of months ago on his Instagram that he was diagnosed with brain disorder Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), he canceled his upcoming concert gigs and was not able to attend the June Tribeca Festival premiere of his HBO documentary And So It Goes. But this past week, the "Vienna" singer welcomed Maher into his home and sat down by his grand piano for an interview.

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In a clip posted on Friday by Maher, the singer talked about the stories behind his hits "Just the Way You Are," "Uptown Girl" and "She’s Always a Woman."

Joel also talked about his 1977 song “Only the Good Die Young,” where his lyrics tell the story of a young Catholic woman and her attitudes to virginity and temptation in front of a lustful young man.

"I’m tipping over sacred cows all my life. I like to do that," he said as he sat by his piano. "There is a code within the music itself that has nothing to do with the words, that takes you to this place, if it’s done right."

This then led the "Piano Man" singer to talk about his love for classical music.

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"What I love about classical music is its purity. It's just music! It can take me away somewhere else, completely. I get stoned from it!" Joel admitted. "I literally get carried away listening to beautiful music."

The rest of the Club Random podcast episode will be released on Monday on YouTube, Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Plus, the first part of Joel's documentary, And So It Goes, is out now on HBO Max. Part 2 will be released next Friday, July 25.

Billy Joel’s Admission to Bill Maher About Classical Music: ‘I Get Stoned From It’ first appeared on Parade on Jul 19, 2025

This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 19, 2025, where it first appeared.