Billy Joel makes surprise birthday call to Debbie Gibson 

Singer-songwriter Debbie Gibson got a surprise birthday call from Billy Joel. The Merrick-raised pop star, who turned 50 on Aug. 31, took to social media on Wednesday to share the voicemail with her fans on both Twitter and Instagram.

"I just about flipped out," she says in the video clip before playing the message on her phone.

The Piano Man from Centre Island says: "Hi Debbie Gibson, this is Billy Joel. I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. I hope you can have some kind of celebration with all the craziness that’s going on. Anyway, my best wishes to you and happy birthday to you."

Upon hearing the birthday greeting, Gibson gets teary eyed and holds her left hand above her heart in the video.

"Oh my gosh! I love you Billy. I can’t believe that," she says. "I have a picture of myself when Billy Joel called me on New Year’s Eve when I was performing when I was, like, 17. The feeling never changes. OH MY GOD! What?"

In her Twitter post, Gibson wrote: "If I woulda told the little girl who sat 11th row for @billyjoel at Nassau Coliseum that her idol would send her a 50th Birthday message…she never woulda believed it! [heart emoji] PS - We’ve also shared the stage and I dream of doing it again!"

On Twitter, Gibson also paid tribute to Joel by posting a video clip of herself performing his instrumental "Root Beer Rag" from his 1974 album, "Streetlife Serenade."

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.