The one Billy Joel album inspired by a Beatle: “I wanted to hear his voice”Rock music, at least for the majority of its life in the collective consciousness, has always been about being cooler than cool. He was a student of music, and John Lennon was his teacher when making the album The Nylon Curtain. The famous Beatle, John Lennon. I still wanted to hear John Lennon’s songs, I wanted to hear his voice. Whereas Lennon may have influenced an entire album, Joel took the time to write an album where each song was a tribute to his youth, whether it was the sounds of Motown, Beethoven, or Franki Valli.