Donald Gould (aka "The Homeless Piano Man") is an American musician, composer and U.S military veteran. After spending many years on the streets, Gould was discovered in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

when playing a piano rendition of " Come Sail Away" by American rock band

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

on an outdoor piano. He is signed with independent record label Triple Pop and has released one studio album, “Walk On Water”.

Biography

Early years

Originally from

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, Gould played the

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

from an early age. When he served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

, he played for the Marine Corps Band. Once he left the Marines, he studied music education at Spring Arbor University but due to financial difficulties was unable to complete his studies.

Discovery and early fame

When his wife died by suicide in 1998, and his son was then taken away from him, Gould developed a substance abuse addiction and he eventually became homeless. It wasn't until 2015 when he sat down at an outdoor piano in

and played ‘ Come Sail Away’ by American rock band

that his musical talent was discovered. The performance video was recorded by a passerby and became viral overnight with tens millions of views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. A few months after the video went live Gould was given a makeover by the TV show Inside Edition and raised over $40,000 on GoFundMe to pay for his drug rehabilitation. He was also offered a full scholarship by Spring Arbor University to complete his studies. While in recovery, he was invited by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

to play at their opening game of the 2015 season against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. On September 14, 2015, he played ''

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

'' at

Levi's Stadium Levi's Stadium is an American football stadium located in Santa Clara, California, just outside San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has served as the home venue for the National Football League (NFL)'s San Francisco 49ers since 2014. T ...

in front of 75,000 fans. The lead vocalist and founding member of STYX Dennis DeYoung also sent his congratulations to Gould as a surprise guest during his interview on the Drive radio show on

WDRV WDRV (97.1 FM, "The Drive") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. The station is owned by Hubbard Radio and broadcasts a classic rock format. Its studios were originally located in the John Hancock Center. On May 11, ...

in Chicago.

Court case

Gould was part of a lawsuit with the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

(ACLU) against the city of Sarasota on September 30, 2015. The action sought to challenge the city's apparent criminalization of homeless people due to city ordinances that targeted sleeping in public and panhandling. The case was settled in June 2016, where there were allowances made for homeless people in regard to the city ordinances in Sarasota as well as 10 extra beds supplied to

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

for use by homeless people.

Record label signing and debut album

Gould was signed to an independent record label, Triple Pop, in 2016 and soon released a single version of his ‘Come Sail Away’ piano cover. In 2017, he released a full studio album entitled "Walk on Water" which featured a mix of musical styles from contemporary to classical as well as his own original composition all performed on piano.

Personal life

Gould reestablished contact with his son, Donny, who had been taken away by social services at the age of three years old and adopted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, Donald Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Michigan Musicians from Florida United States Marines