BILLY JOEL - JOEL WAS A RELUCTANT ROCK STAR

JOEL WAS A RELUCTANT ROCK STAR

Singer BILLY JOEL had no intentions of becoming a rock star during his youth - because he hated the sound of his own voice. The Grammy-winning star has sold over 150 million albums to date in his 43-year career, but admits it was never his ambition to be the one in the spotlight. He says, "My original intention starting out was to write songs for other people. I was never a big believer in my own singing voice, which is why I tried to change it all the time. "I never thought of myself as a rock star. I don't look like a rock star, and up until recently I never acted like one. But sometimes you can get locked into a box by being a rock star, not allowed to move or manoeuvre. "When I started writing songs, it was the era of the singer/songwriter, so the advice I got was, 'Make your own album.' So I did, and then I had to go on the road to promote the album. And then there I was: the Piano Man."