Doug Stegmeyer
Douglas Alan Stegmeyer (December 23, 1951 – August 25, 1995) was an American musician who was best known as a bassist and back-up vocalist for Billy Joel. Stegmeyer also performed as bassist for Debbie Gibson and Hall & Oates.
Also recorded as Douglas Alan Stegmeyer
Doug Stegmeyer

Distributed by Columbia Records · Immediate 52nd Street (1978) press kit · Public domain
- Birth Name
- Douglas Alan Stegmeyer
- Born
- 23 December 1951
- Birthplace
- Flushing, Queens New York, U.S.
- Died
- 25 August 1995
- Place of death
- Smithtown, New York, U.S.
- Occupation
- Musician
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- rock music
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Douglas Alan Stegmeyer (December 23, 1951 – August 25, 1995) was an American musician who was best known as a bassist and back-up vocalist for Billy Joel. Stegmeyer also performed as bassist for Debbie Gibson and Hall & Oates.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Doug Stegmeyer. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q5300926 · wikipedia · Doug Stegmeyer
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Landscape — yes • Birth Name — Douglas Alan Stegmeyer • Born — 23 December 1951 • Birthplace — Flushing, Queens New York, U.S. • Origin — New York City • Died — 25 August 1995 • Place of death — Smithtown, New York, U.S. • Instrument — Bass, vocals • Genre — Rock, pop • Occupation — Musician • Years Active — 1966–1995 • Label — Columbia • Past Member Of — Topper
Life and career
Life and career
Stegmeyer was born on December 23, 1951, in Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York. In high school, he met Russell Javors, who at age 15 was performing songs with childhood friend Liberty DeVitto. Along with Howard Emerson, the boys formed the band Topper, which performed songs by Javors and attracted Billy Joel's attention. Joel hired Stegmeyer to play bass in his backing band on the Streetlife Serenade tour. At Stegmeyer's recommendation a year and a half later, Emerson, Javors, and DeVitto joined Joel in the studio for his Turnstiles album and for the accompanying tour. Stegmeyer became a core member of Billy Joel's band, playing bass on Joel's studio albums from Turnstiles through The Bridge and on the live albums Songs in the Attic and Kohuept. Stegmeyer was dubbed "The Sergeant Of The Billy Joel Band". Stegmeyer (and Javors) left the band in 1989; according to DeVitto, he was forced out. Stegmeyer subsequently maintained a busy schedule recording and producing. On August 25, 1995, Stegmeyer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Smithtown, New York, home.
Credits
Credits
With Billy Joel • 1976 Turnstiles • 1977 The Stranger • 1978 52nd Street • 1980 Glass Houses • 1982 The Nylon Curtain • 1983 An Innocent Man • 1986 The Bridge With Phoebe Snow • 1978 Against the Grain • 1981 Rock Away With Melanie • 1983 Seventh Wave With Hall & Oates • 1990 Change of Season With Debbie Gibson • 1990 Anything Is Possible
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Flushing.
Birth place
Smithtown.
Death place
Legacy
On October 23, 2014, Stegmeyer was posthumously inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, along with Topper and Joel bandmates Richie Cannata, DeVitto, and Javors. The four were inducted primarily for their work with Joel.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Doug Stegmeyer”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5300926: Doug Stegmeyer
General reference · Wikidata
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,438 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Doug SahmPerson
- Doug SandomPerson
- Doug SaxPerson
- Doug SidesPerson
- Doug StonePerson
- Doug WamblePerson
- Doug WatkinsPerson
- Doug WieselmanPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Doug Stegmeyer?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.