And who could blame them? It was uncharted territory, both geographically and culturally. Nobody wanted anything to do with the Soviet Union. Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen all declined invitations to play. However, even toward the end of the Cold War - in practice - the all-out cultural exchange was still in its infancy. One popular tactic practiced by bootleggers was fishing for x-ray scans in hospital dumpsters, and recording vinyl records right onto them, to then sell on street corners illegally - and with the threat of terrible punishment constantly hanging over their heads. Joel, donated the piano he used on his concert tour of the Soviet Union last year, to the cafe's collection of memorabilia.ĭespite the Iron Curtain (called that for a good reason), Russians did have access to Western music from as early as the 1960s.
Rock star Billy Joel is helped by his wife Christie Brinkley, as he pretends to lift a piano suspended from the ceiling at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York, June 3, 1988.
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