For more than 30 years, Liberty DeVitto sat behind a drum set, backing up Billy Joel on stage and working with him on 13 platinum albums that have sold more than 150 million copies. He also wrote and performed the drum parts on 22 of Joel's 23 Top-40 hits and all six of his Grammy Award-winning recordings. His relationship with Joel was fraught with tension at times, leading to a falling out later in his career. DeVitto will discuss it all when he comes to Elizabethtown College to read from his memoir, "Liberty: Life, Billy and the Pursuit of Happiness." DeVitto will give a talk and will sign copies of his book on Friday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Brinser Lecture Hall, located inside the Steinman Center on the campus, 1 Alpha Drive. The event is free.
"Liberty had a fractured friendship with Billy Joel," noted Jesse Waters, director of the Elizabethtown College Bowers Writers House, who is hosting the event. "They did reconcile, though. Billy Joel wrote the foreword for the book."
Along with Joel, DeVitto played with numerous luminaries in the music industry, including Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Mick Jagger, Elton John and Meat Loaf. He was inducted into the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013, and he continues to lecture and play all over the world.
"For decades, Liberty has been the backbone of so many different musical acts, and I'm so excited to be able to bring him to our campus community," Waters said. "Aside from performance, he's also been a pioneer for different social initiatives, so he definitely blends in with our Educate for Service mission." Among the programs DeVitto has supported is Little Kids Rock, a program that brings music education to children across the country.
Prior to his lecture, DeVitto will give a craft talk at 3:30 p.m. in the Bowers Writers House, located at 840 College Hill Lane, Elizabethtown. Waters, a drummer himself, plans to bring his drum kit to the talk for DeVitto to use for demonstration. "The reading from the memoir will begin at 7 p.m., but we'll have opportunities for photos and book signings starting about 6:20," Waters noted.
The Bowers Writers House hosts regular programming throughout the year that is free and open to the public. Upcoming programs include presentations by Scott LaMar of WITF's "Smart Talk" and author T.C. Boyle.
Reservations are requested for DeVitto's craft talk and may be made by emailing Waters at writershouse@etown.edu. The lecture is first-come, first-served. For more information, including the full schedule of events at Bowers Writers House, visit http://www.etown.edu/centers/writershouse.
Leave a Review