'The Lifestyle Has Caught Up With Him': Billy Joel's Pals Worried About Piano Man's Recovery After Being Ordered On Vocal Rest

The 73-year-old Piano Man was under doctor's orders to rest his vocal cords, and no one knows how long a recovery will take. "Billy's voice has been battered by years of touring and his monthly residency at Madison Square Garden," a source close to Joel said.

"He's also been an admitted drinker over the years."

They allege that Joel's past is coming back to haunt him.

"The rock 'n' roll lifestyle seems to have caught up with him," the insider shared. "People are warning Billy he'd better take it easy or face the consequences."

Joel's concert series at MSG is set to resume on January 13, but that's not all he has up his sleeve. In between his Big Apple shows, the legendary singer has planned to team up with Stevie Nicks for a United States tour.

Their joint Two Icons One Night tour is supposed to kick off at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium on March 10.

The We Didn't Start The Fire singer has been doing his MSG residency in his Billy Joel at The Garden since 2014, playing at the venue once a week. This isn't the first time Joel has been out of commission.

Following the height of the pandemic, he returned to the stage 50 pounds lighter after undergoing surgery.

"I had back surgery early this year and the pain afterwards was so bad I lost my appetite," Joel told Howard Stern in 2021. "I embraced that, I said, 'Okay, I won't eat as much' and I ate less and less and less and less and then there was just life aggravation and that tends to, you know, impact your appetite too."