Displaying More Dignity And Poise Than Hagar, Billy Joel Scraps Plans to Release Book

[chefcraig]

Billy Joel Scraps Plans to Release Memoir
Singer says he is 'not all that interested in talking about the past' after all

ROLLING STONE
By Matthew Perpetua

HarperCollins has announced that Billy Joel has canceled the release of The Book of Joel, a memoir that was set to hit stores in June. The book was already written and edited, and was being prepared for printing when Joel backed out of his contract earlier this week. Since the plug was pulled at the last moment, some advance preview editions of the book had already been made available to some members of the press.

"It took working on writing a book to make me realize that I'm not all that interested in talking about the past, and that the best expression of my life and its ups and downs has been and remains my music," Joel said in a statement; he had no further comment.

"It was a decision that Billy made and he no longer wanted to move forward with it," Joel's publicist Claire Mercuri told Rolling Stone. "I felt he feels that his lyrics in the songs and his music really speaks about his life better than anything else."

HarperCollins acquired the book project for $3 million in 2008. Joel is expected to return his advance on that sum to the publisher, though no details of the arrangement have been made public.

[hambon4lif]

Cool!

It's good to know that someone out there is showing some decency and some class.

[Kristy]

$3 mil hardly covers what his ex-wife screwed him over for. Never was a fan of his even though he did pen a good tune every now and then.

[Anonymous]

Class? Closing a deal to publish his memoirs, with all the money involved, printing previews, most likely getting his fans all excited about that shit & then, at the last possible moment, pulling the plug on the whole thing? CLASS???

Give me a fucking break. Only a FUCKIN' CUNT would pull this stunt.

Fuck off, Billy Joel.

Dude may have written some good songs, but this shit ranks up there with Spambulent & Edtard's general arseholeness.

Cheers! :bottle:

[hambon4lif]

Class? Closing a deal to publish his memoirs, with all the money involved, printing previews, most likely getting his fans all excited about that shit & then, at the last possible moment, pulling the plug on the whole thing? CLASS???

Give me a fucking break. Only a FUCKIN' CUNT would pull this stunt.

Fuck off, Billy Joel.

Yes, CLASS!

I'm sure that book contained things in it that could've buried whoever was in it, and for what? The sake of a blessed fucking buck?

Yes, CLASS!

If his fans are disappointed by him deciding not to release anything OTHER THAN HIS MUSIC, then they really need to pull their head out of their motherfucking ass and re-assess their priorities.

[sadaist]

Joel says he is 'not all that interested in talking about the past' after all[/B]

Is he still singing his songs from the past? or only new stuff?

[Terry]

Whatever.

I'll always have far more use for the music Joel wrote than anything to do with Hagar.

Who gives a shit about Joel's private life?

He likes to drink and drive and fucked Christie Brinkley back when she was the bomb. Not much else one needs to know.

[Anonymous]

Yes, CLASS!

I'm sure that book contained things in it that could've buried whoever was in it, and for what? The sake of a blessed fucking buck?

Yes, CLASS!

If his fans are disappointed by him deciding not to release anything OTHER THAN HIS MUSIC, then they really need to pull their head out of their motherfucking ass and re-assess their priorities.

Then WHY did he went to the trouble of hiring somebody to write that shit for him, close a deal to have it published & even went so far as to print it?

He had more than enough time to pull out before it was done, pun intended.

Cheers! :bottle: