So I'm riding in my car this morning to a Zumba class, that didn't happen, (a whole other story) listening to Howard Stern. He's interviewing this guy and they're talking about Paul McCartney and the Beatles. While I'm listening to the interview, I'm trying to figure out who this guy is that Howard is interviewing. He sounded much like a kid from Long Island, and at times a bit humble. Howard was asking him what it was like to be a rock star and why he closed each concert with, "Don't take any crap from anyone." He replied it stemmed from his childhood and how he was pushed around as a kid and he kept referring to himself as Willie. Willie got picked on because he played the piano and had his books knocked out of his hands and such. I'm thinking it's Billy Joel, but then I decided no. The piano man could never be a Willie.Howard asked him about the people who sang at his concert; this last concert at Shea. Artists like John Mayer, Steven Tyler, Garth Brooks, and Sir Paul. Stern went on to call this man insecure, because he admitted to not knowing exactly who would show up at his concert and why they would. Willie told the story of how McCartney called him the day before the show, and he didn't know who it was at first, to tell him that he didn't think he would be able to make it. Something about a flight and not being able to get into town in time. Willie, ecstatic that Sir Paul even considered making it, said he went on stage content that Paul McCartney had almost made it. He was floored when the legendary Beatle, indeed, showed at Shea to close out the show. The New York Times is quoted as saying about Joel when McCartney came on stage,
"The sold out crowd of 55,000 people let out an ear splitting roar as Mr McCartney sang the Beatles, "I Saw Her Standing There. Mr Joel, playing back-up fitting his reputation as a self-deprecating rock star, looking on from his piano as if he were just a fan himself."
It was confirmed that my suspicions that Willie was Billy Joel, when Howard asked him what his favorites of his music were and he replied, "New York State of Mind, Vienna, Summer Highland Falls, to name a few. The entire process was filmed for his documentary that opens tomorrow called, "Last Play at Shea".
I'm thinking that's a documentary I would like to see in the theaters and that that interview alone was worth my $23.00 subscription to Sirius Radio.
