Billy Joel Stopped Songwriting Because He Didn’t Want to ‘Dilute’ His Legacy

'Don’t Kill It' The artist released his last rock album in 1993 It’s been over three decades since Billy Joel released his last rock album, 1993’s critically acclaimed River of Dreams. The prolific songwriter has put down his pen since then and in a recent interview, shared that it was because he didn’t want to “dilute” his legacy. When speaking to fellow musician Rick Beato, Joel said that after releasing River of Dreams, he “felt like I was done.” “I was married [to Christie Brinkley], I had a child. I didn’t want to lock myself in a cave and devote myself like a monk to writing anymore,” he continued. He added that after making 12 albums, he thought: “‘You know what? The Beatles had 12 albums.’ And that was just enough for me.” Joel said that some artists who continued to put out record