Google briefly told anyone who asked that Billy Joel had died. An information box on the singer carried a date of death of 17 September, which set off a run of concern online before anyone thought to check it against a human being.
His publicist did the checking. "Billy's not dead," Claire Mercuri told Newsday. "I was just emailing with him." That is as flat a denial as these things get, and it has not been followed by anything from Joel himself.
The error found fertile ground because the 77-year-old has genuinely been unwell. He cancelled tour dates last year and announced on social media that he had been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain disorder that NME describes as capable of causing problems with hearing and balance. A fan who half-remembered that news would not have needed much persuading.
The more recent picture is better. In January he played live for the first time since the diagnosis, appearing in Florida alongside Turnstiles, a band that works as his own tribute act, which is a strange and rather charming way to come back. In March his daughter Alexa Ray told The Hollywood Reporter that her father is doing great, has lost weight on a diet, and is committed to being healthy and proactive about it.
There has been a real loss nearby, which is part of why the rumour landed badly. Earlier this month Joel announced the death of his friend and longtime collaborator Jon Small, the music video director and musician whose tangled history with Joel was one of the threads of last year's documentary And So It Goes.
He is not the first to go through this recently. In May, Barry Gibb's team had to respond to a social media hoax about the Bee Gees singer's death, with family sources telling TMZ that he is healthy, happy and living at his home near Miami. NME does not say where Google drew the false date from, or whether it has been corrected at the source. More pop and rock coverage sits on the pop hub and the rock hub.
The facts
- A Google information box gave Billy Joel a date of death of 17 September 2026.
- His publicist Claire Mercuri told Newsday he is alive.
- Joel is 77 and cancelled tour dates last year over his health.
- He was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain disorder.
- He played live in January for the first time since the diagnosis.
- His daughter Alexa Ray said in March that he is doing well.
- He announced the death of collaborator Jon Small earlier in September.
- NME does not say where the false date came from.
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