Liberty DeVitto

Liberty DeVitto (born August 8, 1950 in New York City, New York) is an American rock drummer.

DeVitto has been a drummer for Billy Joel and the Hit Squad and he has been a session drummer on recordings of other artists. DeVitto was born in New York City of Italian ancestry where his father was a police officer at the New York Police Department.

DeVitto taught himself to play the drums after seeing The Beatles on their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

The 2006 Billy Joel tour is the first known tour to not include DeVitto on drums since his inclusion in Billy Joel's band in the 1970s. Prior to that point, he had the longest running tenure in Joel's band. This is thought to stem from a confrontation between the two men regarding Joel's past problems with alcohol. Another possible reason for the break between the two musicians, according to the New York Post, is that DeVitto wanted more money.

Liberty is the father of actress Torrey DeVitto. He currently endorses Mapex drums, Sabian cymbals and Pro-Mark drumsticks. He has endorsed with Tama drums and Zildjian cymbals in the past.

Credits

• 1976 Turnstiles Billy Joel
• 1977 The Stranger Billy Joel
• 1978 52nd Street Billy Joel
• 1980 Glass Houses Billy Joel
• 1981 КОНЦЕРТ Billy Joel
• 1981 Dead Ringer Meat Loaf
• 1981 The Burning Rick Wakeman
• 1981 Songs in the Attic Billy Joel
• 1982 Nylon Curtain Billy Joel
• 1983 An Innocent Man Billy Joel
• 1985 Greatest Hits Volume I & II Billy Joel
• 1985 Spoiled Girl Carly Simon
• 1989 Storm Front Billy Joel
• 1989 Mick Jones' solo debut Mick Jones
• 1993 River of Dreams Billy Joel

Philanthropy

In 2003, Liberty DeVitto signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and free lessons to children in public schools throughout the U.S.A. Liberty has personally delivered instruments to children in the program, performed at benefit events for the cause and sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member.

External links

• Official web site of Liberty DeVitto
• [www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Liberty_DeVitto.html Drummerworld Entry]