Billy Joel concert at Shea Stadium in New York City on Jul 18, 2008

Billy Joel bade a stirring farewell to Shea Stadium on Friday during an electrifying, sold-out final show at the same ballpark where the Beatles famously ushered in a new era in rock ‘n’ roll four decades ago.

He was joined by an all-star lineup of friends including Paul McCartney, who told Joel, “Came here a long time ago. We had a blast that night and we’re having another one tonight.“

“Good evening, Shea Stadium. Is this cool or what?” Joel told the crowd at the New York Mets’ home field, which is to be razed after the baseball season to make way for a new stadium across the street. “They’re gonna be tearing this place down, but I wanna thank you … for letting me do the best job in the world,” he said.

The show paid homage to Shea’s baseball glories, with Mets highlights playing on jumbo screens during “Zanzibar.” But the concert also was a mark of the stadium’s place in music history.

Joel has always strongly embraced his New York and Long Island roots, and that makes for memory-making concerts every time he plays in the city. Throngs of fans know his music so well they can pretty much take over any chorus they like.

And as if the “Piano Man” playing the last concert at Shea wasn’t thrilling enough, high-wattage guests turned up the excitement level.

Tony Bennett sang “New York State of Mind” with Joel on Friday, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler performed “Walk This Way,” and Roger Daltrey of the Who did “My Generation”. At the end of “My Generation,” Joel smashed a guitar against the stage, breaking it in two.

McCartney came on at the end. He sang “I Saw Her Standing There” while on guitar and “Let It Be” on piano — the last song of the night. Joel sat on top of piano and sang backup. […]

From paulmccartney.com, July 24, 2008:

Last Friday, 18th July 2008, it looks like Paul might just have set another world record as he made it from New Yorks JFK Airport to Shea Stadium in an incredible 15 minutes with the help of the New York Police Department. Paul dropped in as an extra special surprise guest at Billy Joels farewell to Shea Stadium show.
Throughout the day there had been rumours that Paul might be joining Billy on stage, but as the curtain went up there was no sign of musics revered icon. Billy took to the stage at 9pm, as Paul McCartney was thousands of feet up in the air making his way from London to New York. Pauls flight touched down 2 hours later at 11pm at JFK airport. Paul rushed off the plane with his legendary Hofner bass guitar in hand and got straight into a waiting car flanked by NYPD police cars and bikes.
Throughout the flight the NYPD had stayed in contact with air traffic controllers to ensure no time was lost. The fleet made it to Shea Stadium in just 15 minutes. Just before 11:20pm Paul jumped on stage, surprising not only Billy Joel but also the sold out audience as he launched straight into I Saw Her Standing There. Its so cool to be here on the last night,Paul told the 55,000 strong audience. I came here a long time ago. We had a blast that night and were having another one tonight. Paul then closed the night with his seminal anthem Let It Be, with Billy Joel on backing vocals.
Paul McCartney first performed at Shea Stadium with The Beatles in 1965, just one year after the stadium opened. The Beatles were the first band ever to ever hold a concert in a sporting stadium – yet another rock n roll first in the history books. 43 years later Paul was back to give the legendary venue a legendary send-off. Paul McCartney would like to thank the New York Police Department for helping him to the show.