Russell Javors (born June 13, 1952) is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist 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 ...

from 1976 to 1989.

Career

At age 15, Javors was performing songs with his 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 ...

. He met

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 ...

in high school and along with Howard Emerson, formed the band Topper. Together they performed the songs that Javors wrote. Topper became noticed by

. Joel found he needed a bassist on his ''Streetlife Serenade'' tour and invited Stegmeyer to join him. Javors, DeVitto, and Emerson soon followed. With the addition of multi-instrumentalist

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 ...

, Topper became the Billy Joel Band. Javors played rhythm guitar with Joel from 1975 until 1989. On October 23, 2014, Javors, Cannata, and DeVitto (with Stegmeyer, posthumously) were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, primarily for their work with Joel. Shortly thereafter, Javors, Cannata, and DeVitto officially formed

The Lords of 52nd Street The Lords of 52nd Street is a rock band that primarily comprises members of the line-up which backed singer-songwriter Billy Joel from 1976 to 1981, the period during which Joel initiated a run of albums that reached the top ten on the ''Billboar ...

band; the band also includes a pianist and lead vocalist, keyboardist, and a guitarist, and plays faithful renditions of the recorded Joel originals. Javors also wrote two songs and played guitar on

Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was praise ...

's 1979 self-titled album, which was released in 1996.Tobler, John. ''The Complete Guide to the Music of The Carpenters.'' London: Omnibus, 1998. 128.

Billy Joel album credits

*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 ...

'' *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'' *1981 ''

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 ...

'' *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 ...

'' *1985 '' Greatest Hits Volume I & II'' *1986 '' The Bridge'' *1987 '' КОНЦЕРТ'' *1997 '' Greatest Hits Volume III''

References

1952 births Living people People from Long Island Songwriters from New York (state) American rock guitarists American male guitarists Rhythm guitarists American session musicians American harmonica players Guitarists from New York (state) 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Billy Joel Band members {{US-rock-guitarist-stub

Career

See also

Billy Joel album credits

References