Billy Joel Quotes on Musicians (11 Quotes)

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

I was amazed by the way all of that played out in the media. To me, a musician going to rehab is like a normal person going to get his teeth cleaned. Don't these people ever watch Behind the Music It's a cliche. If I had known that the story was going to be reported in the way that it was, I would have considered not going at all.

Musicians now find themselves in the unlikely position of being legitimate. At least the IRS thinks so.

Those who have expressed doubts and misgivings about their ability to live this kind of life shouldn't try, because being a musician is not something you chose to be, it is something you are.

I consider myself to be an inept pianist, a bad singer, and a merely competent songwriter. What I do, in my opinion, is by no means extraordinary.

It's really hard to make a living as a musician. It's almost impossible.

When I was 19, I made my first good week's pay as a club musician. It was enough money for me to quit my job at the factory and still pay the rent and buy some food. I freaked.

Does Joel feel a particular resonance with any of this year's other nominees Sure, he says -- Paul McCartney, because of the Beatles. The Beatles were the band that made me realize it was possible to make a living as a musician, ... When I heard the Beatles, I said, 'That's what I want to do'

Artist - musicians, painters, writers, poets, always seem to have had the most accurate perception of what is really going on around them, not the official version or the popular perception of contemporary life.

Musicians want to be the loud voice for so many quiet hearts.

Historically, musicians know what it is like to be outside the norm - walking the high wire without a safety net. Our experience is not so different from those who march to the beat of different drummers.