EXCLUSIVE: Billy Joel's Brutally Extreme Secrets Laid Bare After Brain Disease-Addled Rocker Was Left 'Devastated' By Being Forced to Shut Motorbike Store
Billy Joel's secrets have surfaced after the brain disease-stricken star had to close his motorbike shop.
Sept. 4 2025, Published 10:45 a.m. ET
Billy Joel's wild lifestyle and private battles have been laid bare in a new HBO documentary – just as the 75-year-old singer was left reeling by the closure of his beloved Long Island motorbike shop.
The Piano Man star, whose career spans five decades, is the subject of the five-hour film Billy Joel: And So It Goes, and RadarOnline.com can reveal it exposes the truth behind a brilliant but destructive musician.
Billy's Painful Closure
HBO doc lays bare Billy Joel's reckless past and painful struggles.
He emerges as a man capable of writing enduring hits like Vienna and New York State of Mind, but also of crashing cars, blowing up marriages and alienating friends.
It comes after insiders told us Joel has been "devastated" by being forced to shut down 20th Century Cycles, his motorcycle store in Oyster Bay, which had become his refuge away from the stage.
A source close to the singer said: "Billy always lived to extremes. He would write these gorgeous melodies, then turn around and drink himself into oblivion or ride his bike in the rain.
"Losing that shop has crushed him – it was his sanctuary, and now it's gone."
Another insider added: "The film makes clear how self-destructive he could be. He hurt people when he was drinking, he blew through bandmates, he drove his cars and motorcycles into ditches.
"Billy's talent was off the charts, but so was his appetite for chaos."
Billy's Highs And Lows
Christie Brinkley weeped while recalling trust issues and betrayal.
The documentary, directed by Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, traces Joel's rise from a bullied Long Island kid to a global star who sold more than 150 million records.
Along the way came lavish highs – a marriage to supermodel Christie Brinkley, packed stadiums and MTV-era stardom – but also crushing lows.
Joel attempted suicide before fame, spiraled into alcoholism, endured three divorces, and survived a string of headline-making car accidents that turned him into a Saturday Night Live punchline.
Howard Stern, a longtime friend, observes in the film that Joel's story is "way deeper psychologically than Billy wants to know."
Bruce Springsteen, Sting and rapper Nas also appear to testify to his songwriting power and cultural reach.
Joel mourns closure of beloved Long Island motorcycle sanctuary.
The excesses, however, dominate much of the narrative.
Joel himself is filmed admitting: "I had a chip on my shoulder," before defiantly adding of his accident record: "I never had a DWI, so f--- you."
Brinkley recalls how the marriage crumbled under the weight of his drinking and mistrust. "He trusted his manager more than he trusted me, which hurt," she says through tears.
Later, she reflects: "He didn't realize how much he could hurt people."
Former band members and producer Phil Ramone are also portrayed as casualties of Joel's ruthless career choices.
Longtime drummer Liberty DeVitto described being abruptly discarded during the making of River of Dreams – a decision that still stings.
Billy's Current 'Fragility'
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Joel fights brain disorder after canceling tour and getting a shunt.
The film charts his rehab stints, his feud with Elton John and his baffling decision to stop writing pop songs after the early 1990s, despite peers like Paul McCartney continuing to create into their eighties.
Now remarried to Alexis Roderick, 42, with two young daughters, Joel comes across in the film as a weathered survivor still wrestling with his demons. Yet those close to him say the abrupt loss of his motorbike store has been a "brutal reminder of his fragility."
Joel was recently diagnosed with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), a brain disorder characterized by excess cerebrospinal fluid, which affects balance, vision, hearing and cognition.
He cancelled his tour after his condition worsened from performing, and is now undergoing physical therapy and has a brain shunt.
