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
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
. Stegmeyer also performed as bassist for
Debbie Gibson
Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress.
Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...
and
Hall & Oates
Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...
.
Biography
Stegmeyer was born on December 23, 1951, in
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 ...
,
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. In high school, he met
Russell Javors, who at age 15 was performing songs with childhood friend
Liberty DeVitto
Liberatori "Liberty" DeVitto (born August 8, 1950) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his work as a drummer for New York singer-songwriter Billy Joel's recording and touring band. He has also been a session drummer on recordings of ...
. 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
''Streetlife Serenade'' is the third studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on October 11, 1974 by Columbia Records.
The album peaked at No. 35 on the US album charts, eventually selling more than one million copies. ...
'' tour. At Stegmeyer's recommendation a year and a half later, Emerson, Javors, and DeVitto joined Joel in the studio for his ''
Turnstiles
A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a ...
'' 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 ''
Songs in the Attic
''Songs in the Attic'' is the first live album by Billy Joel, released in 1981.
At the time of its release, it was the first widely available appearance of music from his first album, ''Cold Spring Harbor'', released in 1971.
History
In the lin ...
'' and ''
КОНЦЕРТ''. Stegmeyer was dubbed "The Sergeant Of The Billy Joel Band."
Stegmeyer (and Javors) left the band in 1989; according to DeVitto, he was forced out. Stegmeyer subsequently maintained a busy schedule recording and producing.
On August 25, 1995, Stegmeyer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his
Smithtown, New York
Smithtown is a town in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. The population was 116,296 at the 2020 Census.
The census-designated place (CDP) of Smithtown lies within the tow ...
, home.
Legacy
On October 23, 2014, Stegmeyer was inducted, posthumously, into the
Long Island Music Hall of Fame
The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame was incorporated in July 2005 under the New York State Board of Regents, as a nonprofit organization and holds a provisional charter to operate as a museum in the state of New York. It recognizes ...
, along with his Topper and Joel bandmates
Richie Cannata
Richie Cannata (born March 3, 1949) is an American music producer, saxophonist, keyboardist and studio owner. He is most notable for playing saxophone in Billy Joel's band alongside Liberty DeVitto, Russell Javors, and Doug Stegmeyer. After leav ...
, DeVitto, and Javors. The four were inducted primarily for their work with Joel.
See also
*
Billy Joel Band
Credits
With
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
*1976 ''
Turnstiles
A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a ...
''
*1977 ''
The Stranger''
*1978 ''
52nd Street
52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Jazz center
Following the repeal of ...
''
*1980 ''
Glass Houses''
*1982 ''
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 ...
''
*1983 ''
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 ...
''
*1986 ''
The Bridge''
With
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 g ...
*1978 ''
Against the Grain''
*1981 ''
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 dwin ...
''
With
Melanie
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Debbie Gibson
Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress.
Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...
*1990 ''
Anything Is Possible''
External links
* https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/DougStegmeyer?fref=ts (Official Facebook Page dedicated to Doug Stegmeyer)
Memorial page for Stegmeyer
References
American session musicians
1951 births
1995 suicides
People from Long Island
American rock bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
Record producers from New York (state)
People from Flushing, Queens
Suicides by firearm in New York (state)
20th-century American singers
American rock singers
Musicians from Queens, New York
Guitarists from New York City
American male guitarists
20th-century American bass guitarists
20th-century American male singers
Billy Joel Band members
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