What’s more New York than riding in a pedicab with Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” playing? How about having the “Piano Man” himself waving to you out the window of a nearby vehicle as you enjoy the moment?
The legendary singer shared a video on Instagram on July 21 that shows a pedicab driver blaring Joel’s 1976 classic “New York State of Mind” as he pedals two female customers around the Big Apple.
Joel, 76, is then seen surprising the group by putting down the window from the back seat of a vehicle to reveal that the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is right there in the flesh as his song plays.
“We’re in a New York State of Mind…always,” he wrote in the caption.
The excited pedicab driver immediately pedals toward Joel after Joel’s car drives up beside them.
“You see we are playing you, man,” the driver says while reaching out for a handshake with Joel.
“We love you,” one of the female passengers says. “How are you feeling?”
Joel said in May he was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain disorder in which cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside of the skull and presses on the brain, according to Cleveland Clinic.
Joel’s fans enjoyed the moment.
“This is excellent. I’m also so glad she asked how you were feeling like a true New Yorker fam member,” one person commented on Instagram with a heart emoji.
“We love you Billy .. Thank you for writing the song track to our lives,” another commented, adding a heart emoji.
As for his health, Joel said on the July 21 episode of Bill Maher’s podcast that he feels “fine.”
“My balance sucks,” he said. “It’s like being on a boat.”
Joel said the cause of the condition is unknown, but he has taken it in stride. The condition is treatable and sometimes reversible, according to Cleveland Clinic.
“I feel good,” Joel said. “They keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder, so it sounds a lot worse than what I’m feeling.”
Joel announced in May that he had canceled his upcoming shows due to the condition being exacerbated by performing.
His serendipitous encounter with the pedicab also comes amid the release of the two-part HBO documentary “Billy Joel: And So It Goes,” in which Joel and his friends and family open up about his life.