THE LORDS OF 52ND STREET
This is not a Billy Joel cover band – This IS Billy Joel’s original band!
Doug Stegmeyer, Liberty DeVitto and Russell Javors joined Billy Joel in studio to record his 1976 album “Turnstiles.” Billy Joel was also looking specifically for a saxophone player who can play keyboards. Al Stegmeyer, Doug Stegmeyer’s father, was a sound engineer on the album, and recommended Richie Cannata to play saxophone and keyboards on the album. Cannata walked into Ultrasonic Studios in Hempstead, New York, and heard for the first time the legendary hit, “Angry Young Man.”
The Turnstiles album was a huge success because Joel and his new recording and touring band performed the songs with such a fresh, and young driven beat. DeVitto, Javors and Cannata blew away audiences with their playing, and helped Joel sell millions of albums. After the success of the Turnstiles album, Joel and the band began looking for a music producer for their next album. George Martin, the legendary Beatles record producer, offered Billy Joel a record deal, but he informed Joel he wanted to record with studio musicians. Joel would not create this new album without The Lords of 52nd Street, so he told Martin, “Love me. Love my band.” Joel turned down The Beatles’ record producer, George Martin, and was pleased to work with the legendary, Phil Ramone.
Phil Ramone and Joel coined DeVitto, Cannata, Javors and Stegmeyer as The Lords of 52nd Street, and went into Columbia Studios to record, “The Stranger.” The album was a commercial success, it holds a RIAA diamond certification (10x platinum), and several #1 singles including, Only The Good Die Young and Just The Way You Are.
Joel and The Lords of 52nd Street returned to the studio, and recorded Grammy award winning albums including, 52nd Street, Glass Houses, and The Nylon Curtain. The band recorded and toured with Joel for over a decade, and it wasn’t until their induction into
the Long Island Music Hall of Fame where they decided to reunite after a 30-year separation. After their 2014 hall of fame induction,
The Lords of 52nd Street picked up their instruments yet again, and began performing in front of live audiences together.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT OUR FANS SAY…
"This is not a Billy Joel cover band, This IS Billy Joel's orignal band!"
— Bobbi Rossi, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL