Donald Gould, 51, may be a homeless who wanders the streets of Sarasota, Florida but no one can doubt his amazing piano skills.
Recently, he captured the internet’s attention after a video of him playing a beautiful rendition of Styx’s “Come Sail Away” went viral.
However, no one will think that his delicate fingers and incredible talent actually hide a bitter past
Before he became homeless, Gould was a Marine Cop clarinet player and was on course to become a music teacher.
He studied at Spring Arbor University and majoring in music education. Unfortunately, just three semesters away from his graduation, he had to drop out when he could no longer afford the tuition fees
Later, he took a series of jobs and started a family but he fell hard when he became addicted to drugs.
Things truly fell apart when his then 3-year-old son Donny was taken away by social services and his wife committed suicide
He regretted every second of it and he hoped that the viral video could help him find his son. So far, his video playing piano on the street has been viewed more than 39 million times!
One kind-hearted person even set up a fund for him to help him get back on the track. Later, he began to receive many invitations from talk shows
Thanks to the positive responses from the public, he is now recording his album!
He also reunited back with his son who is now 18 years old. Donny was adopted by a family in Michigan when he was 5 years old.
Watch Gould’s beautiful playing here
