VIDEO: Billy Joel Surprises Elementary School w/ Guest Appearance

The Piano Man himself, Billy Joel was a surprise guest April 9, 2014 at Glen Cove's Deasy Elementary School in Long Island, sitting in the audience to watch kindergartners through second-graders perform their spring concert, titled "The River of Dreams: A Billy Joel Tribute."

Unfortunately the singer did not make it through the entire performance. Once parents realized he was sitting among them, they bombarded Joel with autograph and photo requests. Being a true gentleman, the Grammy Award winner did not want to detract from the students on stage.

Check out Joel enjoying the show in the video, courtesy of the Glen Cove School District.

Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man," in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States. His compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 is the third best-selling album in the United States by discs shipped.

Joel had Top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, achieving 33 Top 40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote himself. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner who has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards throughout his career. He has sold over 150 million records worldwide.

Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006). In 2001, Joel received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2013, Joel received the Kennedy Center Honors, the nation's highest honor for influencing American culture through the arts.