Billy Joel paid his band during the pandemic

Billy Joel says he continued to pay his band during their pandemic hiatus, and is reluctant to ever sell the rights to his song catalog for commercial use.

"I did pay them full salary for a year," the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, 72, said Wednesday on Howard Stern's SiriusXM satellite-radio show. "I have a great band, I'm so happy to have them on stage … I don't do as many gigs as I used to do … back in the day when I had some money issues, I wasn't able to take care of the band the same way I am now. I wasn't able to compensate them … and I wanted to take care of the band."

He also told Stern, "There have been offers for me to sell" his catalog, as stars including Bob Dylan and Paul Simon have done, "which I haven't accepted." While he occasionally has allowed commercial use of individual songs, he noted that, "If I sell my catalog I give that power up. I give my control up." Joel added, "I think of my songs as my kids," saying, "I went through a pregnancy and a labor with these songs. I remember how hard I worked on them and I don't necessarily want to give that permission away for how my kids are utilized."

Regardless, "If somebody came to me with a billion dollars, what am I going to do? Say no? I'm from Levittown," he said, referring to the Levittown section of Hicksville where he grew up.