Billy Joel calls Taylor Swift the Beatles of her generation: 'She knows music'

Billy Joel may be a legend, but he's not afraid to give props to artists who have been around decades less than he has.

In an interview with USA Today, the "Uptown Girl" singer raved about both Adele and Taylor Swift.

According to Joel, Adele is "a phenomenal singer, kind of a Streisand throwback."

As for Swift, he said she's "a very talented girl, and she’s productive and keeps coming up with great concepts and songs, and she’s huge. You have to give her high marks. She knows music, and she knows how to write. She’s like that generation’s Beatles."

Joel, 72, said he is also amused that some chart-topping stars of today, such as BTS and Olivia Rodrigo, are either citing him as an influence or shouting him out in their lyrics.

"When I was a kid, my generation didn’t take to my parents' music," he recalled, adding that people of his generation "weren’t a back-looking generation."

"There are a lot of younger people now looking backward, and they like their parents’ music, which is a strange phenomenon," he said. "I look out [in the crowd] and see so many young people. I’m grateful for it, especially because they make more noise. It’s a great mix."

Joel will resume his monthly residency at New York's Madison Square Garden on Friday, the same day his new box set, "The Vinyl Collection Vol. 1," drops.

"We never expected to still be doing this job at our age,” Joel said. "We can’t believe people are still buying tickets to see us."