Does that homeless piano man rock or what??
It all started with a clip on You tube showing a homeless man playing street piano in Florida. And he plays beautifully! Come sail away by Styx was the name of the song. It is not a very difficult composition, but it is surely played with soul. The homeless man whose name later revealed a veteran Donald Gould, became an internet sensation when the video of him reaching a million view within 24 hours. A little more than a year later, it has over 30 million views.
Not long after his video went on the internet, he was made news by local media. Then he got even more famous when a television program “Inside Edition” broadcast about him putting him on national attention. After that every forms of support came to him. He got a makeover, granted a full scholarship to finish his college degree, was given temporary housing, and was put onto a campaign called “GoFundMe” in which he raised $ 40,000. And most importantly, he got into the rehabilitation to get rid of his addiction problem for good.
Only a few months after he was discovered playing street piano, he was invited to play the national anthem at Levi stadium for the season opener of the San Francisco 49er’s football game in front of 75,000 people. Since then, he has appeared on many television and radio show such as the Golden Voice, and Toko Doga, a Japanese TV show, making him more well known in other countries as well. In 2016, he was offered a recording contract form Triple Pop Records and in May of the same year, he released his first single on itunes, the very same song of his fortune “ come sail away ”. His life was completely changed.
A little more flashback. Donald Gould is a former marine who served the United States and he has played music all over the world with the United Stated Marine Corp Band. Unfortunately, later, he lost his wife and the custody of his son, and he became addicted to alcohol and drugs. Then his life went downhill. Donald Gould has been living as a homeless man for 7–8 years before his piano scene went viral on the internet.
Overnight, this man went from unknown to a celebrity. And from having nothing to now having everything he needs to start his new life. More than essential things in life, he was even given opportunities to do thing far beyond ordinary people could dream of such as performing at the football stadium, or get a record deal.
He is a simple man with stories behind him. Like we all do. Everyone has their own stories. But rarely, it was told. Thanks to that single video and You tube that allows him to express himself and have his story told. Donald Gould’s story is now known to people all over America and beyond with the capability to access of internet.
He slowly gained fan base and receive a lot of praises and admiration as his stories inspired so many people. However, there are some criticism about how people praise him for his musical talent and how his life completely changed, but ignore the fact before his struggle, that it is he himself that chose the path of drugs and alcohols. It is criticized that media chose to focus on the side of the story that people love; drama, surprises, the roller coaster, but not the issue that matters or reflect the society such as his addiction.
For me, this criticism is kind of true. Thinking about it, Donald Gould actually did not do anything good that deserve praising. He is not like a local hero or anything. He is only a guy that messed up his own life but happened to play piano beautifully. However, I still support him to build a better life and am pleased to read good news about him rather than his mistakes and I think most people are like me. That’s why media select its content carefully because it knows exactly what people want to hear.
It’s true that media is powerful and can make the life of a person soar or sink in no time depending on what message it chooses to deliver. And perhaps Donald Gould is lucky that his positive sides is focused more on media. But seriously, what more do we love than a talent with a little touch of tragedy.
Let’s end the article with this soulful and delightful play of Come sail away by Donald Gould!
