hi

The first thing Salah's friend said to her, she recalls, was: "Hi Helen, how are you this morning?"

Cut to five years later, I’m playing at the Greek, and I’ll never forget, after the show, my tour manager came back and said, “Hey, Rick Springfield and his wife are here. They want to say a quick ‘hi.’

Her work, which also drew inspiration from church songs, jukebox pop and big band jazz, included the preschool classics “The Hello Song,” “The Hi Dee Ho Man,” “Dulce Dulce” and a popular rendition of “Wade in the Water.”

He came to see us at Nassau Coliseum — came on his own, walked into the dressing room, said: “Hi, I’m Billy Joel. I’m a big fan.”

They always made sure to say hi, looking in my direction frequently.