Lords of 52nd Street - Billy Joel's Original Band

They are New York’s favorite band, they sold more than 150 million records, they helped establish Billy Joel’s formidable sound, and they continue to perform their legendary hits still to this day. Before they were The Lords of 52nd Street, you could find them playing at local clubs in Long Island under different band names. Richie Cannata on sax and Keys Russell Javors on guitar, Doug Stegmeyer on bass and Liberty Devitto on the drums played on the NY circuit for a few years..Up and coming performer Billy Joel was looking for the “New York sound”… Joel was looking to form a new band that will record and tour with him regularly. Stegmeyer was immediately accepted into the Billy Joel Band, and Joel asked if Stegmeyer knew any other players, specifically a New York style drummer. Stegmeyer recommended, Russell Javors and Liberty DeVitto, for the part. DeVitto frequently played gigs with Joel’s high school band “The Hassles” at Plainview’s My House. To say the least, Joel and DeVitto were not foreign to each other’s playing. No one ever expected these musicians would cross paths again, and help form one of pop music’s most famous bands. 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.”