A man sits at a public piano and begins to play. He’s tired, his hair and beard are unkempt, and he doesn’t know where he’s going to be sleeping that night. But still, he plays for the sheer love of it.
But today is his day. He’s about to realize that it’s never too late to turn your life around.
Donald Gould begins to play Styx’s “Come Sail Away” on the piano and it’s immediately clear that he is incredibly talented!
People walking by on the sidewalk stop to listen, and they’re absolutely spellbound. Donald’s fingers move with the skill of a classically trained pianist. Someone stops and records him playing.
The video is uploaded onto YouTube, where it receives 17 million views.
The video spreads like wildfire, making the man an online sensation overnight. Before long, reporters are clamoring to speak to the extraordinary pianist.
He tells them his story, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking.
51-year-old Donald Gould’s life has been a hard one. His face is lined with the years he’s been living on the streets of Sarasota, Florida.
He developed a problem with drugs and alcohol, and eventually found himself sucked into the vicious cycle of addiction and homelessness.
What’s even sadder is that Donald once served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He played clarinet in the U.S. Marine Corps band and went on to study music education so that he could become a music teacher.
“I took music theory and ear training, and I had to learn how to play every instrument from the piccolo down to the tuba,” Gould said. “I can write parts like a handbook,” he told ABC News.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be. He ran out of money and had to discontinue his education, so he worked odd jobs and started a family. But a blow came in 1998 – he lost his wife suddenly and lost custody of his three-year-old son shortly after.
He had hit rock bottom. But then, something incredible happened.
It all began with a piano that was strategically placed in front of Clasico Café and Bar on Main Street.
This piano is part of the Sarasota Keys project. It’s one of seven pianos that have been exquisitely painted and left on public corners.
“I think interactive art projects incubate talent,” Sarasota City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell told Your Observer. “You never know who’s going to come up and play a piano.”
When a reporter from Inside Edition asks why he plays on the street every day, he says that he does it for a “few tips” and to “make people happy.”
Inside Edition took notice of Donald, who was making waves online. They featured him in a segment of their show and decided to give him a complete makeover. They shaved his shaggy beard, cut his hair, and bought him some new clothes.
But the whirlwind had just begun.
Inside Edition arranged for Donald to play before a paying crowd at a restaurant nearby, and naturally, everyone who heard him play was stunned!
One of his fans opened a GoFundMe account for him in an attempt to get him back on his feet, and it raised $40,000 in just eight days.
But Donald’s story doesn’t end there.
The adoptive parents of Donald’s son saw the news segment and rushed to get in touch with him so that he could meet his son, Donny, who was now 18 years old.
“I thought [his music] was very beautiful,” Donny told Inside Edition. “I want to just help him clean his act up.”
Donald spoke with his estranged son over a video chat and that inspired him to seek help for his addiction. He entered a rehab center and has been clean ever since.
Meanwhile, his popularity was still skyrocketing. Opportunities began to pour in.
Donald had become so popular that he was invited to play the National Anthem at a San Francisco 49ers game! And things just got better and better for him.
“I looked forward to each day. I was grateful for things like hot coffee and a roof over my head,” he told News Channel 8.
Shortly after, he got the offer of a lifetime. He bagged a recording contract with Triple Pop Records in Austin and released his first album, “Come Sail Away.”
Donald is now living in Germany, where he frequently plays concerts for big crowds. He still can’t believe the turn his life has taken:
“I tell people the odds of me winning $100 million playing the Lotto are better than something like this happening,” he told News Channel 8. “You should always dream big.”
To see Donald play the song that started it all, watch the video below.
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