Author Hank Bordowitz has published a new book 'Billy Joel: The Life & Times Of An Angry Young Man', in which he tells how the singer once tried to off himself by drinking furniture polish. Joel apparently confessed: "I drank furniture polish... It looked tastier than bleach."
The book, which details the singers battles with depression and alcoholism, describes how Joel became so tormented by an affair he was having with his drummer's wife, that it drove him to attempt suicide. The cuckolded drummer in question, John Small, was luckily on hand to save the life of his cuckold-er, rushing him to hospital where he was admitted to a psychiatric unit and put on suicide watch. Joel wrote a suicide note prior to the incident, which later became the lyrics to his song 'Tomorrow Is Today'.