Congratulations to all of the 2014 inductees.

With special thanks to:

Clive Davis
Ron Delsner
and my band
(Liberty, Doug, Russell and Richie)

CHEERS!

Billy Joel

Read more at Newsday. Here is an excerpt:

Things worked out pretty well for the Billy Joel Band, and Thursday night, drummer Liberty DeVitto, saxophonist Richie Cannata, guitarist Russell Javors and bassist Doug Stegmeyer, who died in 1995, will be inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

“These musicians conveyed the intensity and the spirit of their own life experiences in that album [The Stranger] — for the rest of the world to hear and appreciate,” Joel said in a statement for the induction. “I'm very proud to have worked with them on that record, as well as the many other recording projects we did together.”

The Billy Joel Band will mark the occasion by performing together for the first time since 1989, when Javors and Stegmeyer left the band.