Joel Drummer Suing for Back Royalties

Liberty DeVitto had been part of Billy Joel's band and one of his closest friends for 30 years. They started playing together in 1975 and fell out in 2005 when, according to DeVitto, he tried to talk to his friend about his drinking. Soon, Joel was in rehab and DeVitto was on the outside, which included a bit of owed royalties.

DeVitto told the New York Post "People get fired, they get severance or insurance for a certain period of time. I didn't even get a phone call. It was cold."

According to the article, DeVitto does not have songwriting credit on any of Joel's songs, but feels he was a major part of the singer's style. "If Billy sang Only the Good Die Young like he wanted to, it would have been a reggae song."

DeVitto filed suit against Joel and Sony Music last Tuesday in a Manhattan court for an unspecified amount. According to his lawyer, they would have specified something, but they have no idea what the figure should be since it is ten years since DeVitto received any accounting.