Billy Joel is mourning the loss of Jon Small, his former bandmate and longtime creative collaborator, who died September 4 in his late 70s.
Joel, 77, paid tribute on Instagram Monday, September 7, writing simply, “RIP Jon Small,” alongside a throwback photo of the two together and a more recent picture.
A cause of death has not been disclosed.
According to a Facebook post from the podcast Glass Houses, dedicated to Joel’s life and work, Small will be laid to rest in Great Neck, New York, on September 9, with the post describing him as someone who “was always kind, approachable, generous with his time, and a wonderful conversation.”
Joel and Small’s history stretches back to the 1960s, when Joel joined Small’s band, the Hassles, before the two went on to form the hard-rock duo Attila together, with Joel on keyboards and vocals and Small on drums.
Their friendship was later tested when Joel fell in love with and eventually married Small’s wife, Elizabeth Weber, who went on to become Joel’s manager and is widely credited with helping launch his solo career, the two married in 1973 and divorced in 1982.
Joel reflected on the painful fallout from that period in the 2025 documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, describing himself as feeling like a “homewrecker” and acknowledging that Small had punched him in the nose over the betrayal.
Despite the rupture, the two eventually reconciled, with Small even helping Joel through a serious personal crisis during that period.
“Even though our friendship had blown up, Jon saved my life,” Joel has said.
The pair went on to rebuild their creative partnership in the 1980s, with Small producing several of Joel’s most iconic music videos, including Uptown Girl, Keeping the Faith and Tell Her About It.
Small later earned a Grammy nomination for his work on Joel’s Live at Yankee Stadium concert film, and built a broader career directing and producing music videos and concert films for artists including Whitney Houston, Sting, Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Run-DMC and Aerosmith, including the landmark Walk This Way video pairing Run-DMC and Aerosmith.
2026-09-08 09:41:00
