Vanderbilt University freshman Michael Pollack got the thrill of a lifetime in January when he managed to get onstage with Billy Joel during a Q&A and perform "New York State of Mind" with the singer. "My favorite song of yours is 'New York State of Mind,'" he said from the audience. "I was very fortunate to play with Richie Cannata [Joel's saxophone player] many times in New York City and I was wondering if I could play it with you."

Joel didn't even hesitate, instantly saying "OK" and asking him what key he plays the song in. Joel then put on sunglasses and belted out the song while Pollack played piano. The student clearly knew the song well, and he played it flawlessly. "Remember that name," Joel told the crowd. "Guy's got chops!"

500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Billy Joel, 'Piano Man'

Billy Joel hasn't toured in over three years, but he often speaks to large groups of college students and breaks down some of his songs on the piano for them. He will emerge from his road hiatus in late April with a performance at Jazz Fest in New Orleans and the Stone Music Festival in Australia.

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New Jersey natives Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi joined Sting, Christina Aguilera and other music stars on Friday in a televised benefit concert to raise funds for victims of Sandy, the superstorm that has killed nearly 100 people in the United States and devastated large sections of the Northeast.

The commercial-free one-hour telecast organized by NBCUniversal, "Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together," included appearances by Billy Joel, Jimmy Fallon, Steven Tyler, Mary J. Blige, Tina Fey, Jon Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Danny DeVito and NBC News' Brian Williams. TODAY show co-anchor Matt Lauer was host.

"Voice" coach Aguilera kicked off the program. 

"We've come together tonight to tell every single person who's suffering that we are here for you. We will do whatever we can to help. We will not leave anyone behind because every single one of you matters," the star said before beginning her performance of her hit "Beautiful."

"We haven't seen a storm like this in 100 years," said Lauer.

The show also featured Bon Jovi surveying the devastation in New Jersey. After the touching clip, which also showed the rocker talking to impacted residents, he performed an unplugged version of "Living on a Prayer." Images of the destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy were also interspersed throughout the show, along with victims pleading for aid, reminding viewers just how immense the damage was.

Slideshow: Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together

NBC

Launch slideshow

"New Jersey was hit really hard. Some beaches were destroyed. Boardwalks were torn apart. But they will be rebuilt," said late-night host Jimmy Fallon. "This song is dedicated to all the good times ahead." He then joined Steven Tyler, Billy Joel and Springsteen for an upbeat cover of "Under the Boardwalk."

"That ain't bad! ... Jimmy Fallon is a bold man to take the lead vocals," Jon Stewart joked after their performance, before getting serious again. "You never think that it's going to be your home or where you grew up. Now that it is, I find it more difficult (to ask for donations). ... We're asking for your help. Text, call, whatever you can do for the Red Cross."

The stars tried to give hope throughout the program, reminding those impacted by the storm that people care. 

"My prayers go out to everyone who was affected by the hurricane," Mary J. Blige said. "Things are gonna get better, so please hang in there, be strong and have faith. And please, everybody watching tonight, give something, anything. Every penny counts." She performed "The Living Proof," a song she wrote about surviving difficult times and the brighter days ahead.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band closed the show on a message of hope with a rousing rendition of their tune "Land of Hope and Dreams."

Money collected during the concert will be donated to the American Red Cross relief efforts. The Red Cross is providing shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those impacted by disasters such as Hurricane Sandy.

To donate, visit RedCross.org, call 1-800-HELPNOW or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.  

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related content:

• Sandy's aftermath: How you can help
• For Sandy victims, resources to help get back on track
• Sandy death toll in US rises
• Bon Jovi laments destruction of New Jersey shore: 'It's gone'

Kevin Mazur / WireImage file

Billy Joel.

Will Stegemann was not a fan of Billy Joel's. In fact, he was the kind of anti-fan who, when making his New Year's resolution lists, ended every one with: "Listen to zero Billy Joel songs." Yet somehow he never managed to go a full year -- or even six months -- without hearing the piano man somewhere.

But the start of 2012 was different. This year, Stegemann -- a 38-year-old media company analyst based in L.A. -- decided to do the opposite and embrace Billy Joel, if such a thing was possible. He created the "A Year of Billy Joel" Tumblr blog, and dedicated himself to listen to every one of Joel's tunes to determine if his enmity had any basis in reality.

That's a lot of material, as Stegemann quickly learned: "There are 13 studio albums, 5 official live albums and more than a dozen compilations," he told TODAY in an email interview. "All in all there are well over 200 songs and so far I've covered 150 songs."

Each one has been carefully explained and critiqued in blog posts. "I thought that his songs were just bland, middle-of-the-road ballads and that he was not a 'serious artist,'" Stegemann said, suggesting some of his distaste for Joel came from their shared birthplace of Long Island. "As you can imagine, he is considered a local hero and I heard his music all through my life," he said. "At some point, I began to resist the thing that everyone around me seemed in agreement on: The idea that Billy Joel was great."

Surprise: After eight months of the project, his opinions are in fact changing. "As I learned more about Billy Joel the person, I began to place songs in context with his life, which wasn't easy," he said. "Over time I began to see how songs reminded me of my life and family and as a result a lot of my personal history has found its way into the project."

Not only that, Stegemann is now calling Joel a "gifted composer." "He has an almost effortless gift for melody," he said. "By the time I got through his second album I knew that I had misjudged him. Also, Billy Joel is much darker than I ever knew and his music is far more complex than I previously realized."

He's gotten responses from Billy Joel fans and now says the site has a "dedicated following." But whether Mr. Joel is in that mix, he's not sure -- Stegemann has not reached out to Joel's reps (though NBCNews.com has, and is awaiting a response). If possible, he'd really like to see if Joel would sit down to lunch with him to cap off the project, though it's a pretty big long shot.

While he embarked on the "Year of Billy Joel" project with one goal in mind, Stegemann said he's since made another discovery. "The greatest lesson from this project for me has been learning to re-examine my opinions and look closer at things I had ignored," he said. "I encourage everyone to give a second chance to something they had previously written off."

Where do you fall in the Billy Joel debate? Great? Not so much? Or did Stegemann's plan inspire you to give him another chance? Let us know on Facebook!

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