Billy Joel pulled his motorcycle over on a street in Huntington, Long Island late last month when he spotted an old piano sitting at the curb.
As someone surreptitiously records video, the 71-year-old Piano Man tickles the ivories with a bit of the 1917 ragtime tune “Darktown Strutters’ Ball.”
Joel, still wearing his helmet, declares: “Not bad! The action is good. It just needs tuning.”
The music legend tells a man off-camera that it’s “a shame” that someone tossed “a perfectly good piano.” He suggested it be donated instead to the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charity that operates thrift stores to assist the needy.
Joel tries out the piano a bit more. “These are laminated keys, the pedals work, the action is great,” he said. “The mechanics are perfect.”
The fate of the discarded piano is not known but its value certainly got a boost from the five-time Grammy winner’s impromptu performance.
Watch the video below: