Jon Small, who played drums in Billy Joel's early bands the Hassles and Atilla and later became an accomplished director of music videos and concert films, has died. Joel announced his passing in a social media post today, and a death announcement circulating on social media notes he died Friday. His funeral will be held on Sept. 9 in Great Neck, New York. No cause of death has been listed.
Getting their start as teenagers in New York City, Small and Joel were best friends who first teamed up in the 1960s as members of the psych rock and soul band the Hassles. The group released two albums for United Artists in the late '60s, with Joel, the primary songwriter, taking over lead vocals from original singer John Dizek on the second LP, 1969's Hour Of The Wolf. Joel and Small then left the Hassles to form the hard rock duo Attila, whose lone self-titled album came out on Epic in 1970.
Attila dissolved the following year when Joel began dating Small's wife, Elizabeth Weber, a subject that all parties discussed at length in the HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes. Joel felt such guilt over betraying Small that he attempted suicide by drinking furniture polish, but Small rescued him by driving him to the hospital. The saga became the basis for "Tomorrow Is Today" from Joel's 1971 solo debut album Cold Spring Harbor.
Small became a filmmaker specializing in music videos and concert films. He directed Aerosmith and Run-DMC's famous "Walk This Way" video, multiple Garth Brooks videos such as "The Red Strokes" and "Standing Outside The Fire," clips for Anita Baker and Luther Vandross, and several Billy Joel videos, among them "Tell Her About It" and the Ray Charles duet "Baby Grand." Small began to focus on concert films later in his career, helming projects for country stars like Brooks, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, and Rascal Flatts, as well as work with Van Morrison and multiple Billy Joel concert movies.
Joel shared this statement:
I wanted to take a few days to gather my thoughts on the passing of my best friend, Jon Small.
Jon was like a brother to me. No matter the distance or how much time passed, we shared a bond that never changed.
Jon and I were just kids when we decided we wanted to become professional musicians together. That decision became a turning point in both of our lives. We took a huge gamble on a life of creativity, without knowing where it would lead us. Jon went on to build a successful company and create extraordinary work in film and television, but at the end of the day, we were still those two kids who formed a band together.
Jon was part of my career long after he stopped playing music. In so many ways, he was a founding member of it. We made that first decision together—to take a chance on ourselves and devote our lives to creating—and it changed everything that came after.
But what we shared went far beyond music or careers. Jon saved my life, metaphorically and physically. Our lives and families became intertwined in ways I could never have imagined when we first met. I am his son’s stepfather. I love his wife, Jeanine, and our families have remained close throughout the years. He wasn’t simply my oldest friend. He was family.
Losing Jon has hit me in a way I have never experienced. It is difficult to imagine this world without him in it.
Jon was kind, humble and enormously talented. He will always be remembered for the art he created, but those of us who loved him will remember even more the love he left behind.
I will miss him terribly. A part of me will always be with him, and a part of Jon will always be with me.
