Jimmy Fallon Helped Billy Joel Close His MSG Residency: "We're Lucky to Have You!"
"We are part of history," the Tonight Show Host told the sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd.
Billy Joel closed out his historic Madison Square Garden residency with the help of some famous friends —including his pal Jimmy Fallon.
On Thursday, July 25, Joel played the final monthly concert of his decade-long run at the iconic venue. It was the 104th show of his residency, and his 150th in total at Madison Square Garden.
Fallon, who has joined Joel on the MSG stage before, surprised the Piano Man by presenting him with a banner honoring the live music milestone.
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"We are witnessing history here tonight. This is the last night of your residency here at Madison Square Garden, and we are honored to be here," The Tonight Show Host told Joel, commemorated in a video shared to his Instagram page.
"Madison Square Garden has the Knicks, the Rangers, and Billy Joel. We're lucky to have you," Fallon said. "But also this is a legendary night, because tonight is your 150th performance at Madison Square Garden — more than any artist in the world. No one has done this... we are part of history."
"Madison Square Garden wants to thank you. We're going to raise a banner in honor of you and it will live in the rafters," Fallon continued, unveiling a banner which read, "Billy Joel 150: Most lifetime performances by any artist."
"No one but Billy Joel can do this," Fallon declared, as he hugged the singer in a video shared on his Instagram page.
In addition to Fallon, Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose made a surprise appearance, performing "Live and Let Die" and AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell" with Joel. Rose also helped him close out the show with “You May Be Right."
Jimmy Fallon and Billy Joel celebrated Joel's 150 performances at Madison Square Garden
According to NBC New York, Joel first played Madison Square Garden on December 14, 1978, at the age of 29. Joel has played the venue 150 times "comfortably ahead of Elton John (76 performances), Phish (68) and the Grateful Dead (52)."
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While talking to the audience, Joel said this monthly concert series might be over, but hinted at a return to the MSG stage someday.
“I want to mention a couple of things we’ve done,” Joel told the crowd. “We were the first group that played in Yankee Stadium. We were the last band to play at Shea Stadium. We played in Berlin the night the Berlin Wall came down."
"We were the first American full-fledged performance in the Soviet Union. We were the first band after Castro came to power to play in Cuba," Joel continued. "We played in front of the Colosseum in Rome for a half a million people, and the food was great. And out of all of them, this is the best. There’s no place like it. The band loves it. The crew loves it. We’ll come back.”
