Three months ago, Donald Gould was living on the streets. This week, he performed America’s national anthem before 70,000 people at the NFL Monday Night Football game.
Gould rocketed to fame over the summer when he sat down at a piano on a Sarasota, Florida sidewalk and started playing – magnificently. A video of the bearded, homeless musician tallied nearly six million views on Facebook. Within days of its posting, a restaurant offered him a paying gig and he reconnected with the son he hadn’t seen in years.
Gould (pictured, left) entered rehab, turned his life around and celebrated 80 days sober this week.
The San Francisco 49ers invited the former U.S. Marine to perform the Star Spangled Banner at their game against the Minnesota Vikings, and flew him, his life coach, Jacqueline Bevan (pictured, center), and bandmate Paul Lonardo (right) to California.
“This is surreal!” Gould wrote on his band’s Facebook page. “We are feeling so blessed!!”
“Never in my wildest dreams,” Gould told WTVT News. “Three months ago, if someone on the street came up to me and said, ‘you’re going to play the National Anthem for the 49ers,’ I’d say you’re crazy.”
He has been documenting his amazing last few months on the Facebook page shared by he and bandmate.
(WATCH the WTVT News video) Photos: Jacqueline Bevan, FB – Story tip from Jim Kelly
