Singer and songwriter Billy Joel went into rehab in 2005 for his drinking after having several accidents, but now claims the fender benders were because of depression caused by 9/11.

Joel also dismissed the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous and comments by fellow piano player Elton John that he had not taken rehab seriously.

"I was kind of in a mental fog and it had nothing to do with the booze," Joel recently told The New York Times. "My mind wasn't right. I wasn't focused. I went into a deep, deep depression after 9/11. 9/11 just knocked the wind out of me, and I don't know even now if I've recovered from it. It really, really hurt that man could do that to man."

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"And then there was a break-up with somebody, and it took me a while to get me back on my feet again ... I used booze as medication" said Joel, who added that he still drinks "a glass of wine once in a while."

When asked why he hasn't written a pop song in more than twenty years, Joel explained: "I got tired of it. I got bored with it. I wanted to write something other than the three-minute pop tune."



When it came to Elton John's concern, Joel said "I think his heart is in the right place. He's kind of like a mom... He doesn't know anything about my private life. He's a very friendly, charming man, a nice fun guy, but we really never spent much time personally together... I'd work with him again, sure."



Joel says he still owes "four or five regular albums" to Columbia Records, but doesn't plan to deliver them anytime soon.

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"It's indentured servitude when you sign with a record company," he said.

Singer Lauryn Hill recently made the same remark about the music industry and a judge ordered her into counseling.

Source: The New York Times

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