Why Billy Joel Pulled the Plug on His $3 Million Memoir

 

Why did Billy Joel cancel his memoir a little more than two months before it was slated to hit shelves?   One music industry source tells The New York Post his failure to confront his past — including his battle with alcohol and a high-profile divorce from Christie Brinkley — likely played a role. "He never fully confronted the 800-lb. gorilla in the room," the source says. “There needs to be a lot of dish in rock memoirs.”   In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Elton John also said Joel has never fully confronted his problem and was still wrestling with his demons, calling Joel's stints in treatment as "rehab light."   The bio (titled The Book of Joel), which was due in June, was being ghost written by Fred Schruers, a celeb profiler who once worked at Rolling Stone.   Schruers would not comment on Joel’s decision to back out.   Joel has agreed to return a portion of the $3 million advance he received from Harper Colllins.   The Joel book was signed by Harper Collins Executive Editor David Hirshey and represented by Amanda Urban at ICM.    Neither have commented.   It's not the first time Joel has nixed a book project: The Post reports that he scrapped a book on classical music for the Riverhead imprint of Penguin several years ago.