The cunning stunt at a New York festival that changed Billy Joel’s life
Seeing Jimi Hendrix perform live in 1968, when he was at the height of his powers and a god among men, is an experience that money could not buy, but that didn’t stop Billy Joel from gaining entry.
18,000 people had crammed themselves into Flushing Meadows in New York on August 23rd, 1968, to witness the greatest guitarist to ever live in the flesh. Even though Billy Joel wasn’t one of the fortunate ones who had tickets for the event, there wasn’t a cat in hell’s chance that he wasn’t going to sit at home and not try to get inside.
At the time of the concert, Joel, then aged 19, had not yet established himself in the industry and didn’t have two cents to rub together. Nevertheless, the determination that he showed in order to get into Flushing Meadows is the same grit and never-say-die attitude that got him to the top of his business.
During this chapter of his life, Joel attended as many live shows as possible and tried to learn from the best around. However, the only issue was that his bank balance could not cope with the demand, which forced him to be creative in order to attend the concerts. When Hendrix rolled into town, Joel carried out an inventive stunt, which proved to be such a seismic success that he’d do it again on several occasions.
It wasn’t a foolproof plan as Joel decided to put on his best English accent, which sadly wasn’t believable, and pretended to be part of Hendrix’s crew. Immediately, the actual crew could sniff a rat, but in the days before health and safety, they saw an opportunity for an extra pair of hands, which they weren’t going to refuse.
Reflecting on the incident, Joel told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2016: “Oh, yeah, I sneaked in places without a ticket. I went to see Jimi Hendrix back in the late 1960s. He was playing at what is now Flushing Meadows Tennis Stadium, where they have the US Open. I went with a friend and made believe I was one of Hendrix’s roadies”.
Explaining his sartorial choices, he added, “I had on a baseball cap and wrapped some (electrical) cable around my shoulder. I started to try to talk with an English accent: ‘Jimi’s got these cables I need to take to him.’ I made my way closer and closer inside the venue, and I finally got close to backstage.”
It might not have been believable, but it did the trick and got him in the building, adding, “Then Jimi’s famous roadie, Keith Robertson, motioned to me and said: ‘You, come over here! You’re pretty good. Now, I’m going to put you to work.’ He had me lug Hendrix’s huge Marshall (speaker cabinets) onstage.
Reflecting on the unforgettable night, he added, “I spent the entire concert on the edge of the rotating stage, watching Hendrix perform — and watching my friends in the audience. I couldn’t believe it, and neither could they! I did that (phoney roadie) thing a number of times.”
Witnessing Jimi Hendrix from the best view in the house in exchange for manual labour remains a core memory for the singer-songwriter, who got to see what a true star looked like that night. Realistically, he had no right to be there, and everybody knew that, but it showed that sometimes faking it til making it is the only way. If he had refused to try to gain entry due to being ticketless, it would have been a lasting regret. Yet, instead, it was the greatest rock ‘n’ roll show of his life.
