Billy Joel paid tribute to Jon Small days after the death of his longtime friend and former bandmate.
Joel announced on Sunday that Small had died in a simple post on social media. On Thursday, the Piano Man followed that up with a lengthy remembrance to his “best friend.”
“Jon was like a brother to me. No matter the distance or how much time passed, we shared a bond that never changed,” Joel wrote.
“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.”
Joel and Small were bandmates in the Hassles in the Sixties and then formed the hard-rock duo Attila. After the latter released their debut album in 1970 — and while Joel was living with Small and his wife, Elizabeth Weber — the future Piano Man fell in love with Weber, a situation examined at length in the recent documentary And So It Goes.
The affair resulted in Attila’s breakup, the (temporary) end of his best-friendship, and Joel getting evicted from Small’s house. Joel and Weber eventually reunited, and the pair wed. The marriage lasted from 1973 to 1982.
“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,” Joel wrote Thursday.
Small and Joel would also eventually reconcile, with Small working on the Piano Man’s concert films, such as Live From Long Island and Live at Shea Stadium, as well as directing the “Baby Grand” video.
“Losing Jon has hit me in a way I have never experienced. It is difficult to imagine this world without him in it,” Joel added.
“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.”