Billy Joel Checks Into Substance Abuse Center

Billy Joel Checks Into Substance Abuse Center
Wed Jun 19, 2:06 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Piano Man" Billy Joel checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital, a substance abuse and psychiatric center in Connecticut, his spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

"Billy Joel recently checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital for a planned 10-day stay to deal with a specific and personal problem that had recently developed," the spokeswoman said in a statement.

She said the Grammy award-winning rocker, known for three decades as "The Piano Man" after his 1973 album, scheduled his stay at Silver Hill several weeks ago and is expected to leave in a few days.

Silver Hill declined to comment, citing patient confidentiality.

Silver Hill has served as a temporary home to other big stars, including pop diva Mariah Carey who entered last summer after suffering a mental and physical breakdown.

Joel, an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with hits like, "Only the Good Die Young," "Uptown Girl" and "New York State of Mind," in March rescheduled some spring tour dates for his Face to Face tour with Elton John.

The native New Yorker's tour manager reportedly said at the time that Joel was suffering from acute upper respiratory infection and laryngitis. John and Joel were expected to reunite on stage this fall.

 

"Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke, or a light
up your smoke
But there's someplace he'd rather be."