Before becoming a solo superstar, Billy Joel got his professional start as the keyboardist for The Hassles, a Long Island band active in the 1960s. He joined an already-established line-up after the group's managers ran a fake "house band wanted" advert specifically designed to lure a new keyboard player away from rival local acts, with drummer Jon Small identifying Joel's talent despite some bandmates' initial scepticism about his stage presence.

Joel was performing with a different group, The Lost Souls, when Small spotted him and offered him a new Hammond B3 organ to switch bands, an offer Joel accepted. After his run with The Hassles, Joel and Small went on to form a short-lived heavy metal duo called Attila, which released a single album before Joel departed to launch the solo career that would establish him as a major rock and pop icon.