Billy Joel is back home and resting comfortably after being discharged Saturday from a New York hospital where he had sought treatment last week for severe stomach pains.
“He is home, and feeling good,” the Piano Man’s publicist said, adding that he sufferred from “gastro-intestinal tract distress with possible kidney stones.”
The rep denied reports the entertainer had pancreatitis, which is typically brought on by the heavy consumption of alcohol.
Joel decided to get the gut check after suffering extreme stomach cramps about 10 days ago, and was admitted to an undisclosed Long Island medical center not far from his home.
The “Big Shot” singer has gotten well acquainted with local hospital wings over the past few years.
In June 2002, Joel lost control of his Mercedes in the Sag Harbor area of Long Island and slammed into a wall, but he escaped with only minor injuries. A few days later, the entertainer entered the Silver Hill rehab facility in Connecticut to deal with “an undisclosed personal problem.” Joel later confessed that a “prolonged period of indulgence” persuaded him it was time to get his act together.
The following January, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was hospitalized again when he banged himself up after crashing his Mercedes into a tree not far from the previous mishap. Then in April 2003, Joel slammed one of his vintage cars into the home of a 90-year-old woman, but no one was hurt in that accident.
While those aren’t the kind of hits Joel’s used to, life’s been on the upswing for the five-time Grammy winner.
Last October, Joel tied the knot with his latest Uptown Girl, 23-year-old PBS correspondent Katie Lee. It was his third marriage. He’s also become an author, penning the children’s book Goodnight, My Angel: A Lullabye, which came out last year, and the upcoming New York State of Mind, due later this year.