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Biography |
| Russell
Javors
was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 13, 1952
By age 15 he was already writing and performing his songs with childhood friend Liberty DeVitto. After meeting Doug Stegemeyer in High School, Russell, Liberty, Doug and another friend Howard Emerson, formed the group they named 'Topper.' Together the band performed Russell's songs throughout Long Island. Topper had it's share of admirers, among them, Billy Joel. When Joel needed a Bassist for his Streetlife Serenade tour, Doug was asked to join the band. Later, with Doug's influence, Liberty and Russell were recruited to record with Joel on 'Turnstiles'. With that, 'Topper' was unofficially transformed into, the 'Billy Joel Band.' Javors continued touring and recording with Joel for nearly 13 years, and still occasionally joins Joel on stage when the singer performs in New York
Russell has been asked to compile
and release a collection of songs that he wrote and recorded in the 70s
and 80s. In the early 70s, Russell assembled a group of musicians
to record and perform his music. This group consisted of
Doug Stegmeyer, Liberty DeVitto and Howard Emerson. This is the
group that went on to record the Turnstyles album with
Billy Joel. Howard left the group after Turnstyles to pursue other
interests and was replaced by David Brown. Russell, Doug,
Liberty and David became the nucleus of Billy Joel's band both in
the studio and on the road for the next 13 years.
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