Often described as the Legends of Billy Joel Band, the talented contributions of drummer Liberty DeVitto, saxophonist Richie Cannata and guitarist Russell Javors (along with late bassist Doug Stegmeyer), helped establish Joel’s formidable sound during the ’70s and ’80s and sell more than 150 million records.

It was Joel himself, along with famed producer Phil Ramone, who coined the group “The Lords of 52nd Street.”

The band would go on to record and tour with Joel for years as well as do various other projects, but it wasn’t until their induction into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2014 that DeVitto, Cannata and Javors decided to reunite after a 30-year separation and perform in front of live audiences together again.

On Friday, fans can experience The Lords of 52nd Street when they perform Joel’s signature album The Nylon Curtain in its entirely and much more at the State Theatre in Easton.

I recently spoke with DeVitto about The Lords of 52nd Street, his time working with Billy Joel, the music and more in this new interview.

How did the Lords of 52nd Street originate?

Liberty DeVitto: Myself, Russell Javors, Richie Cannata and the late Doug Stegmeyer had been inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. We played a few songs that night and afterwards someone said to us, “You guys need to do this music because you’re the real guys who sound just like the record and people need to know what you guys did for Billy.” So we put it together and got a few guys to fill in where we needed and it turned into a really successful thing. We do the songs in the original keys of the record and people love to see and hear it.

You can read the rest of my Morning Call interview with Liberty DeVitto by Clicking Here.