Billy Joel: Drumming Up Legal Trouble

1. FIRST AGAI SUCKERS!!!

Posted at 12:09PM on May 24th 2009 by toofastforyou!

2. Would the writers on this site please try to sound like they have a high-school education?

"The ousted drummer tells the paper if Joel would have talked to him 'this probably never would have happened. ' "

Come on! Do you mean " . . if Joel HAD talked to him . . . " ???

Has this writer never READ any journalistic prose? This writing makes me puke. First and last visit here. I'm sure you don't want me anyway.

Posted at 12:40PM on May 24th 2009 by Dagnat

3. Yes, the drummer always gets screwed when it comes to royalties and song writing credit. Been there, got the shaft. Lessons learned. The music business is full of snakes and backstabbers.

Posted at 3:42PM on May 24th 2009 by burned

4. It isn't that he can't afford to pay him!

Posted at 9:38PM on May 24th 2009 by 2 cents worth

5. Royalties are not paid out every two weeks--instead they are paid twice yearly, usually within 90 days after the end of June and March.
And yes, he should have brought this sooner. I don't know why he waited until now, except that since he was terminated in 2005 and the statute of limitations for contract actions is typically four years, Devito may be preserving his claim. Bet the ranch that he has no claim against the record company and they will be dismissed from the suit--Joel signed to Columbia well before he was involved with Devito and I would bet that none of the band members signed any revised version of the record contract (the only one signed to the record company was Joel).

Posted at 12:44AM on May 25th 2009 by entertainmentlawyer

6. Liberty DeVitto is the same guy who was on an MTV special called "True Life: I Have Embarassing Parents". He was the father whose kid was running for class President and he slapped his kid upside the head for spewing a racial slur.

Posted at 12:59AM on May 25th 2009 by Melissa

7. Well guys, I think you all may surprised. DeVitto actually did help Joel write some of his songs. So even though he didn't sign any contracts for a certain amount, he may really be entitled to something. When it comes to lawsuits, the little guy that got screwed always seems to win the sympathy of the jury, so we'll see. As for Joel, it was very cold that he didn't even give DeVitto a phone call.

Joel got screwed over financially more than a few times in his career, and it kind of amazes me that he treats his friends the same way.

Posted at 10:23AM on May 25th 2009 by Bryan

8. It's strange to me that Billy Joel had a close working (dare I even say friendly) relationship with this man for over a decade. He can't even call him? He just dropped him and cut him out of his life? Nice guy!

Posted at 12:06PM on May 25th 2009 by Prole Hater

9. To Bryan - No, Liberty DeVitto did not 'help' Billy Joel write his songs. He played the drums on the recordings. That's it. And he was well-compensated for his drumming over the years. He received millions of dollars over the years and he squandered it. That is not Billy Joel's fault. He's trying to blame Joel for his own problems. The truth is - he was a backstabber, a bad businessman and a lousy drummer for the last few years that he played with Joel. And now that he can't make money any other way, he's trying to extort it from Joel. What a scam. If you actually believe that Liberty DeVitto wrote those songs, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I can sell you for real cheap.

Posted at 12:26PM on May 25th 2009 by Joey D.

10. No MELISSA, Liberty was not the one featured on True Life...come on, get your stories straight. And regarding Joey D's comments, you may think you know a lot more than you actually do. Why don't you refrain from making false statements, and let the courts decide this one?

Posted at 11:01AM on May 26th 2009 by Duh