Billy Joel shares huge insecurities about vocal talent

Despite his worldwide fame and numerous accolades, Billy Joel still doesn’t feel like he has it all figured out when it comes to singing.

During his appearance on SiriusXM’s Life with John Mayer, the host asked, “Is there anything you wish you could have done as a writer or a singer that you couldn’t and had to work around? I wish I could sing — I wish I could I could have written [Sting’s] “If you love someone, set them free.” If I could I would have gone [attempts falsetto] “If you love someone…” I’ll never do it!”

He continued: “I always felt like you still had to work in a range? I know it’s weird to say ‘wish you had more’ when you have so many songs you’ve written that were incredible, but did you ever feel, ‘Oh, if I just had a few more notes, could I take them out?”

Joel replied: “I always wanted to sing like someone else – I never liked my own voice.”

Piano Man continued: “I’d go into the studio and do a recording and come back to the control room and hear – ‘Oh my God, it’s this guy. I’m always disappointed – no matter how good I thought the writing was I never liked my my voice

The guitarist then asked, “Do you ever do something like a kid playing basketball in the street pretending to be an athlete? Do you refer to other artists?”

“Yeah, all the time,” Joel confessed. “It’s flashes of people. Ray Charles, Sting … people with these great voices. Even Elvis Costello — sometimes I try to channel him. He’s everywhere.”

Mayer then asked, “Can someone get into your head if you see them get up and leave? ‘Where’s he going, where’s he going?’

Billy Joel replied: “Yeah, absolutely. I was watching people leave right before the encore and you know, you know they’ve got to go somewhere [but] I always felt like I was lying to them and saying, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Petty!'”