Billy Joel

We are living in a time when American popular music is finally being recognized as one of our most successful exports. The demand is huge.

Most people are satisfied with the junk food being sold as music.

I’m probably writing music now for the same reason as I started writing songs when I was 14 – to meet women.

Don’t make music for some vast, unseen audience or market or ratings share or even for something as tangible as money. Though it’s crucial to make a living, that shouldn’t be your inspiration. Do it for yourself.

I can’t think of one person I’ve ever met who didn’t like some type of music.

When I was a young musician, the only option available to pursue secondary education in music was to attend a classical conservatory.

When I look at great works of art or listen to inspired music, I sense intimate portraits of the specific times in which they were created.

For whatever reason, not all people are born with the particular gift of being able to express ourselves through music. And, believe me, it is a gift.

If you make music for the human needs you have within yourself, then you do it for all humans who need the same things. You enrich humanity with the profound expression of these feelings.