Billy Joel Candid In Documentary

Billy Joel opens up about the darkest period of his life in his new documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, during which he attempted suicide twice and was in a coma.

The suicide attempts were the result of a complicated love triangle with the wife of one of his former bandmates. The 76-year-old singer says he felt guilty about the affair.

The emotional aftermath of that time caused Joel’s mental health to deteriorate. I had no place to live. I was sleeping in laundromats and I was depressed. I think I was almost psychotic.

He recalls hitting rock bottom and feeling hopeless: I just thought I was going to end it all. I was in a lot of pain, and tomorrow was going to be the same as today.

Joel’s sister, Judy Molinari, gave him sleeping pills to help him rest. However, the singer swallowed all the pills, which left him in a coma for days. His sister tells emotionally: He was lying there white as a sheet. I thought I had killed him.

After his attempt failed, the singer later tried to take his own life again by drinking a bottle of cleaning fluid.

After the suicide attempts, the singer felt like a lost soul and Joel had himself admitted to an observation ward. When I left the observation ward, I thought to myself: you can use all those emotions for new music, says Joel.

The two-part documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

The singer recently announced that he is temporarily canceling all his performances because he is struggling with a brain disorder.