Billy Joel, the 77-year-old singer-songwriter, has shared news of the death of Jon Small, his longtime collaborator and friend, on social media. Joel posted a black-and-white photo of the two musicians in their youth, captioning it with "RIP Jon Small." The cause of death has not yet been revealed. Small and Joel first met in the 1960s as members of the rock band The Hassles, where Small played drums. They later formed the hard rock duo Attila, releasing their self-titled album in 1970. Their professional partnership ended that year after Joel had an affair with Small’s wife, Elizabeth Weber. The complicated relationship between Joel and Small, as well as the fallout from the affair, was recently explored in the 2025 documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes. In the film, Small reflected on the emotional impact of Joel’s confession: "Elizabeth was very important to me, but I think I was not the guy she hoped I would be. I kept seeing that Billy was not the same guy. Something was the matter. And Billy one day came up to me, became a little honest, and said to me, 'I'm in love with your wife.' So it was a very devastating thing for me, because these were basically my two best friends." Joel admitted, "I felt very, very guilty about it. 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." The emotional toll of the affair was severe for Joel, who attempted suicide twice. After his second attempt, it was Small who found him and rushed him to the hospital. Joel later said, "Even though our friendship had blown up, Jon saved my life." Small added in the documentary, "He never really said anything to me; 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." Joel married Elizabeth Weber in 1973, and she became his manager. The couple divorced in 1982, but Weber’s role in shaping Joel’s early career is widely acknowledged. Joel and Small reconciled in the 1980s, with Small assisting in the production of Joel’s concert films, including Live From Long Island and Live at Shea Stadium. Small also directed music videos for Joel’s songs such as "Uptown Girl" and "Keeping the Faith." He was nominated for a Grammy in 1992 for directing Joel’s Live at Yankee Stadium concert film and worked with other notable artists like Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks. In 2025, Small was inducted into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame as a member of The Hassles. In a 2025 episode of the Glass Houses podcast, he humorously remarked, "It's funny, whenever something is said about Billy, I joke about it, I'm always dragged into it. I can't get away from this guy. He is really a great, great guy."