Billy Joel’s 10 Most Surprising Guests At Decade-Long MSG Monthly Residency

While comedian Jimmy Fallon has teamed with numerous musicians over the past few years including Goose, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead and The Stolen Faces thanks in large part to his friendship with impresario Peter Shapiro, he was sticking mostly to hosting The Tonight Show in 2016. However Fallon, who has never hidden his desire to show off his musical chops, joined Billy Joel for a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up” at MSG on January 7, 2016. The guest spot came one day after Joel appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The youngest musician Billy has brought out who doesn’t share his last name was pop star Olivia Rodrigo. She was just 19 when she joined Joel at his concert on August 24, 2022. Rodrigo led Joel and his band on her 2021 smash “Deja Vu” and also contributed to the ensuing “Uptown Girl.” The latter is referenced in the former via the lyric, “I’ll bet that she knows Billy Joel/’Cause you played her ‘Uptown Girl.’”

The lone entry on this list that doesn’t involve an actual musical performance took place during the 100th show of Joel’s residency on March 28, 2024. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld helped Billy Joel celebrate the milestone by coming out before a banner was raised to the rafters noting the musician reaching the achievement. “I am from Long Island, like Billy is from Long Island,” Seinfeld told the capacity crowd. “He captured how we all feel living in this particular part of the world. Long Island. New York. He’s like the companion that we’ve gone through our whole lives with. His music is our best friend for our whole life.”

Tony Bennett was Billy Joel’s special guest at MSG on April 12, 2019, when he joined the “franchise” for “New York State Of Mind.” Though Bennett had a long history with Joel, he was 93-years-old at the time of the collaboration and wasn’t performing live too often. Sadly, Tony Bennett died at age 96 last July. Billy Joel dedicated “New York State Of Mind” to Bennett at the first show of the residency following Tony’s death. Joel even worked a link from Bennett’s signature song, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” into the tribute.

Miley Cyrus was another performer who sang “New York State Of Mind” with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden. The duet came on September 30, 2017, the same night Paul Simon sat in. All three icons joined forces for “You May Be Right” later in the show. Joel and Cyrus’ “New York State Of Mind” collaboration was filmed by the Fallon crew and aired on an episode of The Tonight Show.

Acclaimed jazz keyboardist Chick Corea is the second artist on this list who has since passed away. Billy Joel brought out Chick Corea for a three-song run of “Big Man On Mulberry Street,” “Zanzibar” and “New York State Of Mind” on November 19, 2015. Chick Corea died on February 9, 2021 at age 79 due to a rare form of cancer.

Who would’ve thought AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson would start the tradition of special guests at Billy Joel’s MSG residency? Yet the Aussie singer will forever hold that distinction after joining Joel for “You Shook Me All Night Long” on March 21, 2014 during the third show of the run. Billy Joel noted AC/DC’s performance at the since-shuttered Roseland Ballroom was the best concert he had ever seen.

Kevin Bacon may be best known as an actor but he definitely has musical chops. The Footloose star has toured and recorded frequently with sibling Michael as co-leaders of the aptly-named The Bacon Brothers. Billy Joel welcomed Kevin Bacon on August 29, 2023 to contribute to performances of “The Entertainer” and “You May Be Right.”

Billy Joel wanted to go big for his 100th lifetime show at Madison Square Garden on July 18, 2018 and succeded. While The Boss and The Piano Man have been swapping guest appearances dating back to 1987, Springsteen helped Joel celebrate the milestone after years of rumors he would guest during Billy’s MSG residency. Bruce Springsteen got to sing his own songs as he fronted Joel and his band on “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and “Born To Run.”

Sure, Phish is the band that has played MSG more than any artist besides Billy Joel, but it was hard to see a connection between the Piano Man and guitarist Trey Anastasio. Yet, Trey Anastasio was Billy Joel’s guest at the penultimate and most recent show of the residency on June 8. Joel obliged Anastasio’s request to perform rarity “Sleeping With The Television On.” The guitarist stuck around for a jam on the end of “Layla” and returned to sit in on the “You May Be Right” finale.