Thursday, September 10, 2026

Billy Joel Mourns Original Bandmate and Friend Jon Small: “He Was Like a Brother to Me, We Shared a Bond That Never Changed”

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Billy Joel’s old friend and original bandmate, Jon Small, died this week. They performed as the Hassles in the late 60s before Billy hit it big with “Piano Man.”

Fans who watched the excellent HBO documentary about Billy know that he regretfully broke up Jon’s marriage, saying he’d fallen in live with his pal’s wife, Elizabeth. Billy married Elizabeth but that ended in acrimony over finances.

Still, Billy and Jon patched things up. Billy’s letter here is poignant. Condolences.


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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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