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Doug Stegmeyer
Douglas Alan Stegmeyer (December 23, 1951 – August 25, 1995) was an American musician who was best known as the bassist and back-up vocalist for Billy Joel. Stegmeyer also performed as bassist for Debbie Gibson and Hall & Oates. Biography Stegmeyer was born on December 23, 1951, in Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York. In high school, he met Russell Javors, who at age 15 was performing songs with childhood friend Liberty DeVitto. Along with Howard Emerson, the boys formed the band Topper, which performed songs by Javors and attracted Billy Joel's attention. Joel hired Stegmeyer to play bass in his backing band on the ''Streetlife Serenade'' tour. At Stegmeyer's recommendation a year and a half later, Emerson, Javors, and DeVitto joined Joel in the studio for his ''Turnstiles'' album and for the accompanying tour. Stegmeyer became a core member of Billy Joel's band, playing bass on Joel's studio albums from ''Turnstiles'' through '' The Bridge'' and on the live albums ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flushing, Queens
Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue at its core is the third-busiest in New York City, behind Times Square and Herald Square. Flushing was established as a settlement of New Netherland on October 10, 1645, on the eastern bank of Flushing Creek. It was named Vlissingen, after the Dutch city of Vlissingen. The English took control of New Amsterdam in 1664, and when Queens County was established in 1683, the "Town of Flushing" was one of the original five towns of Queens. In 1898, Flushing was consolidated into the City of New York. Development came in the early 20th century with the construction of bridges and public transportation. An immigrant population, composed mostly of Chinese and Koreans, settled in Flushing in the late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Session Musicians
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anything Is Possible (Debbie Gibson Album)
''Anything Is Possible'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Debbie Gibson, released on November 20, 1990, by Atlantic Records. The album features a collaboration between Gibson and veteran Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier, who co-wrote four of the album's tracks including the title single. "Stand Your Ground" marked Gibson's final collaboration with longtime producer Fred Zarr. At the time of the album's release in late 1990, Gibson was 20 years old and the late-1980s teen pop wave was near its end. The album was Gibson's first to not reach the Top 10 on the ''Billboard'' 200 Albums chart, peaking at No. 41 in the United States. It made the top 40 of the Cashbox albums chart for one week, peaking at No. 38 on December 22, 1990, before descending down the chart. The album sold fewer copies than her previous two albums, '' Out of the Blue'' and '' Electric Youth'', both of which had gone multi-platinum. ''Anything Is Possible'' was certified Gold by the RIAA. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melanie (singer)
Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for the 1971–72 global hit "Brand New Key", her cover of " Ruby Tuesday", her composition "What Have They Done to My Song Ma", and her 1970 international breakthrough hit "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" (inspired by her experience of performing at the 1969 Woodstock music festival). Early life Melanie was born and raised in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Her father, Frederick M. Safka (1924–2009), was of Ukrainian and Russian ancestry, and her mother, jazz singer Pauline "Polly" Altomare (1926–2003), was of Italian heritage. Melanie made her first public singing appearance at age four on the radio show ''Live Like A Millionaire'', performing the song "Gimme a Little Kiss". She moved with her family to Long Branch, New Jersey, and attended Long Branch High School. Bothered by being pegged by her clas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Away
''Rock Away'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow, recorded in 1980 and released in 1981. Background/recording Following her massively successful 1974 self-title debut album, Phoebe Snow had seen her fortunes dwindle over four subsequent albums over four subsequent years. In 1979, rather than recording the fifth and final album due to Columbia Records, Snow had asked the label for release. Snow negotiated with Polydor Records in the spring of 1980, but would in fact sign a two album deal with newly formed Mirage Records in October 1980, having reportedly commenced recording sessions for her sixth studio album over the summer. Snow's aspiration for her album ''Rock Away'' was what had been the failed aspiration for Snow's 1978 '' Against the Grain'' album - and would remain Snow's purported lifelong aspiration - : to trump her "wintry pop-folk-jazz chanteuse" musical persona with that of a "red-hot blues-and-rock-belting mama". Produced by Greg Lada ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Against The Grain (Phoebe Snow Album)
''Against the Grain'' is the fifth album by singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1978. Overview At the time of the release of ''Against the Grain'', Phoebe Snow called it her "rockiest" album, "a deliberate turning away from the jazz influences" of her earlier recordings. Peter Reilly of ''Stereo Review'' recognized the album's intent to "mark now'sentrance into Outright Rock-&-Roll", dismissing it as "merely a paraphrase of real rock" and lamenting that "a singer whohas shown a real flair for projecting a lyric with poignancy and feeling has made such an awkward and clumsy turnabout." Rising no higher than #100 on the ''Billboard'' 200, ''Against the Grain'' became Snow's second album to seriously under-perform, ending her association with Columbia Records. Snow would have one album release in the next ten years, which was ''Rock Away'', touted as her move into "rock-&-roll". In interviews concurrent with the 1981 release of ''Rock Away'', Snow would label ''Against t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoebe Snow
Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "San Francisco Bay Blues", "Poetry Man", "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals backing Paul Simon on "Gone at Last". She recorded "San Francisco Bay Blues" also. She was described by ''The New York Times'' as a "contralto grounded in a bluesy growl and capable of sweeping over four octaves." Snow also sang numerous commercial jingles for many U.S. products during the 1980s and 1990s, including General Foods International Coffees, Salon Selectives, and Stouffer's. Snow experienced success in Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s with five top 100 albums in that territory. In 1995 she recorded a gospel album with Sisters of Glory. Early life, family and education Phoebe Ann Laub was born in New York City in 1950, and raised in a musical household in which Delta blues, Broadway show tunes, Dixieland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
An Innocent Man
''An Innocent Man'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 8, 1983. The concept album is a tribute to the American popular music of Joel's adolescent years with Joel paying homage to a number of different and popular American musical styles from the late 1950s and early 1960s, most notably doo-wop and soul music. The album cover artwork was taken on the front steps of 142 Mercer Street, just north of the intersection of Mercer and Prince Street in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Background In an interview about the making of the album, Joel talks about the fact that at the time that he was recording ''An Innocent Man'', he was newly divorced from his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, and was single for the first time since achieving rock star status. He had the opportunity to date supermodels such as Elle Macpherson and Christie Brinkley, and because of these experiences, he said, "I kind of felt like a teenager all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Nylon Curtain
''The Nylon Curtain'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 23, 1982, and produced by Phil Ramone. ''The Nylon Curtain'' peaked at on the '' Billboard'' albums chart, with two million sales in the U.S. It was one of the first albums to be digitally recorded, mixed, and mastered. Background The album is among Joel's most ambitious efforts, and Joel has openly acknowledged that it is one of his personal favorites, calling it "the recording I'm most proud of and the material I'm most proud of." When he recorded the album, he said in an interview that he wanted to "create a sonic masterpiece." Joel spent more time in the studio, crafting the sound of the album, than he had on any previous album. He said that the process of making the album was "exhausting." Critics have interpreted the album to be, in part, an homage to the music of The Beatles and the then-recently deceased John Lennon. Saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Richie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glass Houses (album)
''Glass Houses'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on March 12, 1980. It features Joel's first song to peak at on ''Billboard'''s Pop Singles chart, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". The album itself topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked on ''Billboards 1980 year-end album chart. The album is the 41st best selling album of the 1980s, with sales of 7.1 million copies in the U.S. alone. In 1981, Joel won a Grammy Award for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" for his work on ''Glass Houses''. According to music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the album featured "a harder-edged sound" compared to Joel's other work, in response to the punk and new wave movements. This was also the final studio album to feature the original incarnation (Joel, Richie Cannata, Doug Stegmeyer, Russell Javors and Liberty DeVitto) of the Billy Joel Band, augmented by new lead guitarist David Brown. Multi-instrumentalist Cannata left th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
52nd Street (album)
''52nd Street'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 11, 1978, as the follow-up to his breakthrough album, '' The Stranger.'' Joel tried to give the new album a fresh sound, hiring various jazz musicians to differentiate it from his previous albums. It was the first of four Joel albums to top the ''Billboard'' charts, and it earned him two Grammys. Three songs reached the Top 40 in the United States, contributing to the album's success: "My Life" (number 3), "Big Shot" (number 14), and "Honesty" (number 24). It was similarly well received by critics, earning the 1980 Grammy for Album of the Year. This Grammy was presented to its producer, Phil Ramone. Upon Ramone's death, ''52nd Street''s Album of the Year Grammy was passed on to Joel. The album was among the first commercially released on the compact disc format, reaching store shelves on October 1, 1982, in Japan (it was one of 50 CDs released that day, including ''The Stran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
