Billy Joel reveals who he thinks is ‘the best band that ever was’

Attention Billy Joel fans! We heard you loud and clear: You love the Billy Joel Channel, and guess what? We’re here to give you more of it! The limited-engagement channel has been extended for another month and will air through March 15!

The channel will continue to play music spanning the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s career, including songs from each of his live and studio album as well as tunes from artists who’ve influenced him with commentary from Joel himself airing each hour.

He recently spoke with us about his career beginnings and said that impressing a girl was really what ignited his desire to be a musician.

He went on to talk about The Beatles, who he sites as “the best band who ever was,” explaning that he was 14 years old when he first heard them and that they made a huge impression on him.

“They were not the greatest musicians. They were not movie star-types. They were just a great cohesive band,” he said. “Every instrument that they played made sense. Ringo was the perfect drummer for the way they wrote songs. George Harrison was the best guitar player for the way they wrote songs. George Martin was the best producer for the songs they came in with. It was just a great combination of talents that hardly ever happens. It’s like lightning in a bottle. And I don’t know that we’ll ever see their like again.”

Unfortunately, Joel was never able to meet John Lennon before he died, even though the two of them lived across the water from each other on the North Shore of Long Island.

“I had not met John, but I understood from his friend, a guy named Fred Seaman, that he used to row his boat by my house, [which] was right on the water. And he said to Fred, ‘I’d like to go say hi to Billy Joel but I don’t want to bother him,’” Joel recalled. “And the funny thing is that I used to drive my boat by his house and think about pulling up on the beach, going to his door and knocking on [it], but I didn’t want to bother him either. We both respected each other’s privacy. And due to that we never got to meet each other. … I wish he would’ve just stopped and knocked on the door. It would’ve been nice. It would’ve been a nice thing.”

The limited-run channel airs through Monday, March 15, via satellite on Channel 18 and is also be available online and through the SiriusXM app.

For more information on Billy Joel, please visit billyjoel.com.

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