# Billy Joel, Rick Rubin and the collaboration they never got to make: “Didn’t appeal to me”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/billy-joel-rick-rubin-and-the-collaboration-they-never-got-to-make-didnt-appeal-to-me/
- Published: 2026-10-31T21:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T22:21:14+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/billy-joel-rick-rubin-collaboration-they-never-got-to-make/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Joel and Rick Rubin considered working together.
- Joel disliked the idea of returning to his roots.
- The collaboration never produced a record.

## Summary

Billy Joel and producer Rick Rubin discussed working together, but Joel rejected Rubin’s idea of bringing him “back to my roots”, saying it did not appeal to him. The proposed collaboration never happened, reflecting Joel’s reluctance to make new music unless a project feels creatively worthwhile.

Joel has not released a full studio album since the early 1990s, though he has occasionally returned with new songs, including “Turn the Lights Back On”. The article suggests he might have preferred making piano interpretations of songs by artists such as Led Zeppelin or the Beatles, rather than revisiting his own early style; that idea remained speculation.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.