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Billy Joel’s New ‘Piano Man’
University of Vanderbilt student Michael Pollack has become the envy of every Billy Joel fan on the planet due to a video surfacing depicting Pollack accompanying his favorite artist on “New York State Of Mind.”
Joel appeared at the university in January for one of his speaking engagements in which he talks about his music and partakes in a little Q&A with the audience. That’s when Pollock asked his hero to sing “New York State Of Mind” while he accompanied Joel on piano.
“I hesitantly said how‘New York State Of Mind’ was my favorite song, and how I had performed it with his saxophonist Richie Cannata in the past and wondered if I could go up and play it with him,” Pollack told The Vanderbilt Hustler.
“And then he thought for a little – he took a second – and then he just said ‘Okay.’”
Pollack said Joel and he discussed the arrangement for “about 15 seconds.”
“Then afterward he said to me … he said that I was great, where are you from … and I said, ‘I’m a Long Islander just like you,’” Pollack told The Hustler. “He was like, ‘Cool.’ Then I walked off, and that was it … it was probably the greatest moment of my life, up to date.”