(Credits: Far Out / Don Henley)
Mon 13 April 2026 18:30, UK
“I may have won your hearts / But I know the game, you’ll forget my name / And I won’t be here in another year / If I don’t stay on the charts”, Billy Joel sang that outright in 1974, his frank look at the music industry. The year prior, the Eagles had released their own, singing, “You’re losin’ all your highs and lows / Ain’t it funny how the feelin’ goes away?”
Clearly, from as early as the modern music industry existed, artists have been rallying against it in their songs. Songwriters have been using the very form the industry polices to talk outright about the issues and flaws it has, from monetary injustices, to the isolation of the classic touring schedule, to Joel’s statement on the fleeting nature of it all.
Joel wrote that song, ‘The Entertainer’, way back at the start of his career. It sat on only his third album, which strikes me as a quick slip into cynicism. But as the Eagles’ ‘Desperado’ appeared on their second album as their own rage against the industry tune, clearly all those years of cheap shows and strife before the breakthrough can still be breaking an artist down before they hit the big time.
Luckily, though, both endured. Fans can still see both the Eagles and Billy Joel today as both revered and cross-generationally beloved acts. However, some of Joel’s sting towards it all stuck around, leading him to retire from songwriting, even if he hasn’t retired from performing.
It seems a strange line to draw. There hasn’t been a new Joel song, written by the man himself, since 1993. That was a period of intense betrayal when it came to the business side of his career, as his former manager and ex-brother-in-law, Frank Weber, reportedly embezzled millions of dollars from the star, pushing him into financial hardship despite his success and despite having always run his career incredibly carefully.
Clearly, that stab in the back from someone he trusted was the nail in the coffin, and he decided he would never again give the corrupt industry his words.
On the last song on his last album, he laid it out. “And it’s so clear standing here where I am / Ain’t that what justice is for? / And frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn anymore,” he sang on ‘Famous Last Words’, making it clear he was done.
Eagles kept on going. Their last record was in 2007, as the band members were still writing. Remaining inspired by Joel’s work, as recently as 2016, Don Henley urged him to return to his notepad, stating of ‘Famous Last Words’, “This is him just saying I’m done, and I can certainly understand the sentiment sometimes, but there are millions of us who hope Billy, that you’re not done.”
He added on SiriusFM, while picking a selection of his favourite Joel songs alongside Garth Brooks, “We hope for more songs from you, and I hope to write some of those songs with you,” even sending out an invitation to co-write with him if that could coax him back.
