Billy Joel Opens up About Suicide Attempt That Left Him in a Coma

Billy
Joel
has
opened
up
about
a
past
suicide
attempt
that
left
him
in
a
coma
for
days,
explaining
why
he
made
another
attempt
to
take
his
own
life
after
regaining
consciousness.

Joel
revisits
the
incident
in
his
new
documentary


Billy
Joel:
And
So
It
Goes,
which
made
its
debut
at
New
York’s
Tribeca
Film
Festival
earlier
this
week.

The
future “Piano
Man”
solo
star
was
in
a
heavy-metal
style
duo
named
Attila
at
the
time,
along
with
drummer
Jon
Small.
The
band
released
their
sole,
self-titled
debut
album
in
July
of
1970.
While
living
together
with
Small,
his
wife
Elizabeth
Weber
and
the
couple’s
son,
Joel
fell
in
love
with
and
began
an
affair
with
Weber.

Read
More:

When
Billy
Joel
Went
Heavy
Metal
With
Attila

“Bill
and
I
spent
a
lot
of
time
together,”
Weber
explains
in
the
documentary
(as
reported
by


People),
adding
that
it
was
a “slow
build.”
Eventually,
Joel
came
clean
with
his
friend
and
bandmate.

“I
felt
very,
very
guilty
about
it.
They
had
a
child.
I
felt
like
a
homewrecker,”
he
recalled.
“I
was
just
in
love
with
a
woman
and
I
got
punched
in
the
nose
which
I
deserved.
Jon
was
very
upset.
I
was
very
upset.”

The
fallout
from
the
revelation
included
the
end
of
Atilla,
Joel
being
kicked
out
of
the
house
and
the
singer
developing
a
drinking
problem.
“I
had
no
place
to
live.
I
was
sleeping
in
laundromats
and
I
was
depressed
I
think
to
the
point
of
almost
being
psychotic,”
he
explains
in
the
documentary. “So
I
figured, ‘That’s
it.
I
don’t
want
to
live
anymore.’

After
taking
an
overdose
of
sleeping
pills,
Joel “was
in
a
coma
for
days
and
days
and
days,”
his
sister
Judy
Molinari
reveals.
Once
he
came
to
and
was
released,
Joel
made
another
attempt
on
his
life,
this
time
by
drinking
a
bottle
of
lemon
Pledge.
It
was
Small
who
took
him
to
the
hospital.

“Even
though
our
friendship
was
blowing
up,
Jon
saved
my
life,”
said
Joel.

“The
only
practical
answer
I
can
give
as
to
why
Billy
took
it
so
hard
was
because
he
loved
me
that
much
and
that
it
killed
him
to
hurt
me
that
much,”
Small
theorized. “Eventually
I
forgave
him.”

After
checking
himself
into
a
medical
facility
for
a
couple
of
weeks,
Joel
had
a
life-changing
revelation. “I
got
out
of
the
observation
ward
and
I
thought
to
myself,
you
can
utilize
all
those
emotions
to
channel
that
stuff
into
music,”
he
said.

His
solo
debut


Cold
Spring
Harbor
was
released
in
November
1971.
The
album
track “Tomorrow
is
Today”
chronicled
his
struggles
and
suicide
attempt.
Joel
and
Weber
eventually
reconnected,
and
were
married
from
1973
to
1982.

The
two-part

Billy
Joel:
And
So
It
Goes
documentary
will
be
available
on
HBO
on
a
yet-to-be
announced
date
this
July.
Last
month
Joel
canceled
all
of
his
upcoming
tour
plans
after
revealing
he
had
been
diagnosed

with
a
rare
brain
disorder.