Billy Joel paid two musical tributes to the late Jeff Beck during his performance at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
The ‘Vienna’ singer credits the late Yardbirds guitarist Beck, who died Tuesday after “suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis,” according to his rep, according to his rep. He was 78 years old.
Beck’s death as “end of an eratold the MSG audience on Twitter that he “always loved” being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“He was awesome,” said the “Piano Man” singer, adding that he “couldn’t have made it through the night without doing something Jeff.”
He later burst into a performance of “People Get Ready” by Curtis Mayfield, which was covered by Beck and Rod Stewart in 1985.
Joel and his band later performed “Going Down” by the Alabama State Troopers, a song covered in 1972 by the Jeff Beck Group.
You can hear Joel locking out around the 6:18 mark in the video below.