Billy Joel has paid an emotional tribute to his longtime friend and former bandmate Jon Small, days after announcing Small's death on social media. In a lengthy statement, Joel described Small as "like a brother to me," recalling their decades-long bond and the shared decision as young men to pursue music professionally, calling it a turning point in both their lives.

The pair first played together in the Sixties band the Hassles before forming the hard-rock duo Attila, whose 1970 debut album led to a rift after Joel fell for Small's wife, Elizabeth Weber, while living in their home — an affair recently revisited in the documentary And So It Goes. Joel and Weber later married, from 1973 to 1982, while Joel and Small eventually reconciled, with Small going on to direct Joel's concert films, including Live From Long Island and Live at Shea Stadium, and the "Baby Grand" video. Joel said losing Small had hit him unlike anything before, praising his friend as "kind, humble, and enormously talented."