\n\tAlmost a year after Billy Joel<\/a> was diagnosed with the neurological condition Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, his daughter, singer Alexa Ray, gave an update on how the \u201cPiano Man\u201d singer is doing. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHe\u2019s doing physical therapy regularly and he\u2019s doing great. He\u2019s lost weight as he\u2019s on his diet,\u201d said singer-songwriter Alexa Ray of her dad\u2019s road to recovery from the condition that affects balance, vision and hearing and which forced the cancellation of Joel\u2019s planned 2025 tour dates. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of him. He\u2019s such a trooper, so resilient and committed to being healthy and proactive. He\u2019s a fighter. He\u2019s always been a fighter and talks\u00a0in his documentary\u00a0about how life\u2019s like a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAlexa Ray gave The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/em> that update on her dad\u2019s condition on the eve of Thursday night\u2019s (March 12) tribute fundraiser, \u201cThe Music of Billy Joel<\/a>\u201d which took place at Carnegie Hall and featured Matchbox Twenty\u2019s Rob Thomas, Matt Nathanson, Train\u2019s Pat Monahan, Sammy Rae, Rufus Wainwright, O.A.R.\u2019s Mark Roberge, Jon McLaughlin, Wyclef Jean and others playing the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer\u2019s songs.<\/p>\n \n\tThe event was the latest in promoter Michael Dorf\u2019s Music Of benefit series<\/a>, which has raised more than $2 million for music education programs in New York over the past 20 years.<\/p>\n \n\tAlexa Ray said the 76-year-old singer was planning to attend the event. \u201cI said, \u2018Dad, you better be there! This is Carnegie Hall. Everyone\u2019s paying tribute to you, and it\u2019s an amazing group of artists,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cHe was like, \u2018Let me mark that down.\u2019 He\u2019s very organized with his little calendar. He was so excited when he first\u00a0played Carnegie Hall in the \u201870s, so it\u2019s exciting for him to come back decades later and see amazing artists and his daughter pay tribute to him. It\u2019s a full-circle moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShe said her dad asked her not to watch the videos of the Mohegan Sun show last year in which he fell after a microphone spin, which led to the diagnosis of the condition that occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull, pressing on the brain, affecting \u201cseveral brain-related abilities, including thinking and concentrating, memory, movement and more,\u201d according to the Cleveland Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tHe played it down,\u201d she said. \u201cHe knows I have anxiety and am a neurotic worrier, so he was like, \u2018Everything\u2019s fine. It was just a little trip.\u2019 When I saw the footage, I was crying. But then I went with him to the doctors, and we\u2019re on top of everything. I just tell him to stay healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tJoel has been largely out of view since the diagnosis, telling Bill Maher last July, \u201cI feel fine,\u201d but admitting that his balance \u201csucks\u201d and that it feels like \u201cbeing on a boat.\u201d And though there\u2019s no update on his prognosis or a possible return to touring, Joel delighted fans in Florida<\/a> on Jan. 2 when he played a two-song mini-set alongside the tribute band Turnstiles at a village amphitheater in Wellington, Fla. The Piano man joined the band accompanied by his wife, Alexis Roderick, and their two young daughters, Della and Remy.<\/p>\n \n\tAfter asking if he could hop on the mic, Joel performed \u201cWe Didn\u2019t Start the Fire\u201d and \u201cBig Shot\u201d as his daughters danced next to him. The brief appearance was Joel\u2019s first time back on stage since last May\u2019s news about his diagnosis; his last full concert took place in February 2025.<\/p>\n
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