Billy Joel: Lessons About Being An Artist 

There’s an important distinction between being famous for something and being good at something. 

You can be famous without being good. You can be good without being famous. 

Luck is a factor, but skill is a choice. 

Billy Joel talks about his own evolution like this, “I wanted to be a rock and roll star when I was teenager. Now I’m 27. And I wanna be a good musician.” 

He wants to have skill. Real skill. Good skill. 

In that interview, he proceeds to go on by breaking down how other famous piano players do their thing. 

He talks about Neil Young, and the simplicity of his approach. How he would never have even thought of it. 

He talks about “Billy The Kid” and how it’s sourced from cowboy movie music (he even plays the theme from The Magnificent Seven as an example). 

He talks about how Elton John broke the piano-pop barrier. Why every artist after Elton still gets compared to Elton, for a good reason. 

But then he breaks down how Elton John’s style is different from his own. 

Here’s where we really see the good skill on display. 

Billy Joel can play the piano like Elton John. He does Leon Russell too. He can see the frames they put around their artistic voice. 

And this is how, in practicing a skill, we learn through the skill of others to find the skills in ourselves. 

Because like the video shows in the end, when it’s just Billy Joel at a piano again, he’s got it down. 

Give him a break. 

You really do have to watch this: