Doug Stegmeyer – Bass

Douglas Alan Stegmeyer (December 23, 1951 – August 25, 1995) was an American musician who was best known as a bassist and back-up vocalist for Billy Joel. Stegmeyer also performed as bassist for Debbie Gibson and Hall & Oates.

Life and career

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 Songs In The Attic and KONTSERT.  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.

When the Turnstiles album was around in 1976, I was just discovering the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and didn’t go near Billy Joel, thinking he was another one of those Pop balladeers that held no interest for me. I came across the song ‘Angry Young Man’ much later on and remember being blown away by that piano intro and the whole concept of the song. The bass player, Doug Stegmeyer, was someone I had never heard of until I did this transcription but it appears he was a mainstay of the band from the beginning. The chart is interesting is so far as it is more than the usual verse – chorus – bridge format; it’s almost Prog!