Billy Joel Mourns Death of Former Bandmate Jon Small

Billy Joel is saying goodnight to an old friend. The "Piano Man" singer paid tribute to longtime collaborator and former Attila bandmate Jon Small after his recent death. Alongside an OG photo of Joel, 77, and the drummer, he captioned the Sept. 7 Instagram post, "RIP Jon Small." Small helped the "Vienna" singer find his river of dreams at the start of his music career by recruiting him into The Hassles, which they rocked out in from 1964 until they left to form Attila in 1969. "We were like a pig in a blanket," Small recalled in the 2025 documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes. "He was the pig, and I was the blanket. We did everything together." But their relationship hit rocky waters when Joel—who married Alix Roderick in 2015—admitted he had romantic feelings for Small's wife Elizabeth Weber while he lived with the couple. "Elizabeth was very important to me, but I think I was not the guy she hoped I would be," Small reflected. "I kept seeing that Billy was not the same guy. Something was the matter." "Billy one day came up to me, became a little honest, and said to me, 'I'm in love with your wife,'" he continued. "So it was a very devastating thing for me, because these were basically my two best friends." The affair led to Attila's breakup and a temporary end to their friendship, which they reconciled by 1982. "He never really said anything to me," Small admitted. "The only practical answer I can give as to why Billy took it so hard was because he loved me that much and that it killed him to hurt me that much. Eventually I forgave him." Meanwhile, Joel and Weber reconnected years later and wed in 1973 before divorcing in 1982. As for the "Uptown Girl" singer—who was also married to Christie Brinkley from 1985 to 1994 and Katie Lee from 2004 to 2009—he expressed remorse for how he handled the situation. "I felt very, very guilty about it," he said during the documentary. "They had a child. I felt like a homewrecker. I was just in love with a woman, and I got punched in the nose, which I deserved. Jon was very upset. I was very upset." After Small forgave his friend, they collaborated on Joel's concert films, including 1982's Live From Long Island and 2011's Live at Shea Stadium, as well as his "Baby Grand" music video. Small also expanded his directing career, standing behind the camera for Reba McEntire's "Does He Love You" music video and Enrique Iglesias' "Si Tú Te Vas."