Music History At Shea

On July 18th, Billy Joel played a concert in front of 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York.  Billy Joel is as big as it gets for New Yorkers, so this concert was destined to be very memorable, especially since Shea Stadium will be knocked down at the end of the year.  That stadium has been home to the New York Mets since it was built in 1964.  It’s also been the site of many concerts, none bigger than in 1965 when the Beatles played there.  That one show is the most famous stadium concert ever.  That’s why what happened on July 18th was so special.

Months ago,  Billy had asked one of the two living ex-beatles, Paul McCartney, to join him on stage at Shea for a song or two.  Sir Paul said he would do his best to get there but his schedule probably would prevent him from doing so.  Billy didn’t realize it when he took the stage that night about 8pm, that McCartney was on his way from London in a private jet.  Only problem was, time was running out.  Joel’s concert would last just over 3 hours.  The pilot of McCartney’s plane radioed the New York air traffic controllers at JFK Airport and got confirmation that they would be given priority clearance to land as soon as they entered the local airspace.  They touched down at 11pm.  Then with the help of police, McCartney made it to Shea from JFK in just 11 minutes!!!  Billy Joel had to presume McCartney wasn’t coming.  Then Sir Paul appeared backstage looking for a guitar strap.  Joel was alerted.  He then whispered to his band to start the intro to “I Saw Her Standing There”.  Paul walked on stage and suddenly the crowd turned from 55,000 to 55,001.  Even though Joel was playing the piano, at that point, he was just as much of a fan as anybody else.  43 years after rocking Shea with John, George and Ringo, Paul McCartney was once again on stage in Queens with his Hofner bass.  History was made all over again.

Even though it sounds like I was there, I wasn’t.  I was in New York at Shea the week before watching my beloved Mets.  Unlike Paul, my travel plans didn’t allow me to be there, but I’ve watched it and so can you!  Just go to “youtube” and type in “Billy Joel at Shea Stadium”.  There are many video accounts of what happened.  If you’re a big music fan like me, I guarantee you, you’ll have chills watching McCartney play Shea one final time.  He came back out minutes after “I Saw Her Standing There” to sing “Let It Be”.  For that one, Billy got up from the piano and let his idol sit down and play instead. 

Just think, Billy Joel and Paul McCartney playing at Shea in the summer of 2008 and the Mets winning the world series at Shea in the fall of 2008.  What a way to close out a stadium!!!