United Kingdom, July 14 -- Billy Joel has admitted he stopped songwriting because he didn't want to "dilute" his legacy.

The 77-year-old penned the tune River of Dreams in 1993, but then hung up his songwriting cap.

In a new YouTube interview, Billy reflected on his career, and explained why he decided he wasn't going to write any more tunes.

He said: "When I got to the end of writing River of Dreams, I felt like I was done. I was married [to Christie Brinkley], I had a child.

"I didn't want to lock myself in a cave and devote myself like a monk to writing anymore. I had done it 12 times and I thought, 'You know what? The Beatles had 12 albums.' And that was just enough for me."

While he said other musicians had continue putting out ...