Donald Gould, a 51-year-old homeless man in Sarasota, Florida, recently captured the internet's attention after a video of him playing a beautiful piano rendition of Styx's 'Come Sail Away' went viral. Before losing his wife and falling on hard times, this man was a Marine Corp clarinet player and was on course to become a music teacher.
In the video, he plays his heartfelt rendition of the classic song on a piano left outside by Sarasota Keys, a music store that has placed popularly-acclaimed outdoor pianos throughout the city for anyone to play.
So far, one nearby bar called Surf Shack has offered to give Gould a tryout as a piano player for their upstairs piano bar. He is also searching for his now-18-year-old son, whom he lost to child services after losing his wife and turning to drugs. Hopefully, this video will throw many opportunities his way; a GoFundMe account has been created on his behalf as well!
This homeless man walked up to a piano and started playing Styx's 'Come Sail Away'
The video become an instant viral sensation with more than 1.4 million views
Donald Gould, a 51-year-old homeless man in Sarasota, Florida, has been homeless for 6-7 years
He became homeless after losing his wife and turning to substance abuse. He then lost his son to child services as well
The video has lead to one job tryout offer, and we hope it will give him the opportunity to complete his musical education as well!
His interview after the video went viral:
You can help him by donating to this GoFundMe on his behalf