Jon Small, Drummer In Early Billy Joel Bands, Has Died

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 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.