Clive Davis, Billy Joel’s Band Among Long Island Music Hall of Fame Inductees
Record exec Clive Davis, rapper Kurtis Blow, songwriter Gerry Goffin, concert promoter Ron Delsener and Billy Joel‘s famed backing band are among those who will be inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. Patti Lupone (who will not be in attendance), Debbie Gibson and producer Steve Thompson are also part of the LIMHoF’s fifth induction class, with Roger Waters inducting Delsener and Dionne Warwick presenting the award to Davis.
Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels – whose Run-D.M.C. was previously inducted into the LIMHoF – will be the recipient of the 2014 Harry Chapin Award. The all-star ceremony will go down at Huntington, New York’s the Paramount on October 23rd. Tickets for the ceremony are on sale now at the Paramount’s site.
While Joel was previously honored for his contribution to Long Island’s music history with the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2006, the “Billy Joel Band” – drummer Liberty DeVitto, bassist Doug Stegmeyer, multi-instrumentalist Richie Cannata and guitarist Russell Javors – will be inducted this time around. The foursome backed Joel from 1976’s Turnstiles to 1981’s Glass Houses, at which point Cannata left the band. (Stegmeyer, who died in 1995, will be honored posthumously.)
The induction ceremony, which takes place every two years, will also feature a tribute performance featuring songs penned by Goffin, the New York-born songwriter who was previously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and passed away in June.
Previous Long Island Music Hall of Fame inductees include Ramones, Tony Bennett, Public Enemy, Steely Dan‘s Walter Becker, Blue Oyster Cult, Lou Reed, Mariah Carey and John Coltrane. Inductees are chosen by the LIMHoF’s Board of Directors, who choose eligible candidates based on whether the artist or music industry contributor spent a significant portion of their careers in geographic Long Island (Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties).