EP 037 - Face to Face Tour 1994 with Elton John

Billy Joel's biggest fans know Jon Small as the drummer for The Hassles and Attila, the bands the two played in as teenagers and young adults in Long Island.  Some may even recognize Small's further contributions to Billy's career as the director or producer of virtually all Billy's music videos and concert movies. But, his behind-the-camera impact on popular music goes far beyond just one artist.  As one of the first music video directors and producers of the MTV era, Small helped define the format with landmark videos and live concert recordings for everyone from the Beach Boys to Aerosmith and Run DMC to Shania Twain and Kenny Chesney.  In June of 2025, Small spoke with Glass Houses on the eve of the Hassles’ induction into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame.  We published the first part of that conversation two episodes ago. Now, we're revisiting the rest of our fascinating, freewheeling fireside chat as Jon chronicled his almost accidental foray into music videos, and stories behind some of the biggest videos of the MTV era and beyond . In July of 2025, Jon Small was honored by the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame when the Hall inducted the Hassles.  A staple of the greater New York music scene in the late 60s, the group is best known today for featuring a teenage Billy Joel.  Jon Small was the drummer, and he amd Billy went on to form the short-lived Attila before Billy launched his solo career.   ------   Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast on the web / social media: Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.glasshousespod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/glasshousespodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/glasshousespod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter / X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/6G6cMRFu7T⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   Support the podcast: Paypal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://paypal.me/glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Venmo: @MGrosvenor   Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Last Play At Shea” promised to tell the story of Billy Joel’s historic back-to-back 2008 concerts at the iconic Long Island baseball stadium. But it’s not long into the running time that the story becomes much larger than one of music’s biggest stars performing at one of the country’s most legendary venues.  After quickly establishing how Billy’s shows will be the last performances at Shea Stadium, the 2010 documentary explains just why it’s so significant. As a companion to the concert film “Live at Shea Stadium,” “Last Play at Shea” explores the stadium’s origin, cultural significance, and historic moment.  It also tells the concurrent story of Billy’s journey from a kid on Long Island to regional teenage rock and roll royalty, and the soften rocky road that led to his current status as one of the 21st century’s most recognized songwriters.  Join us as we dig deep into the stories, history, and highlights of Shea Stadium and Billy Joel. ------   Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast on the web / social media: Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.glasshousespod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/glasshousespodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/glasshousespod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter / X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/6G6cMRFu7T⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   Support the podcast: Paypal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://paypal.me/glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Venmo: @MGrosvenor   Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been a busy month in the Billy Joel world – and Michael and Jack were there for it.  June kicked off with the premier of the “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” documentary at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. As the first event for this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, the red carpet features A-list celebrities like Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro along with many familiar faces and names for Billy fans.  Next, Billy’s team also announced new vinyl releases. And, later in the month, Billy’s pre-solo Long Island band The Hassles will be inducted into the Long Island Music &  Entertainment Hall of Fame.  This episode features a roundup of all these events with some special guests.  First up, Jon Small, drummer for The Hassles, longtime Billy Joel production team member, and celebrated music video director, talks about The Hassles’ Hall of Fame induction and tells some great stories from the band’s heyday.  Following that is a roundup of the Glass Houses coverage of the Beacon Theatre red carpet including some interview clips.  Lastly, a recap of the team’s time in New York, as told by the hosts and Jeff Fisher, Jenni Nordaby, and Alexis Parente, who were also along for the visit.  Join us as we dive deep into celebrity moments, world premiers, industry afterparties, renowned recording studios, fireside stories, and more. ------   Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠   Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast on the web / social media: Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.glasshousespod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/glasshousespodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/glasshousespod/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter / X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠⁠  Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/6G6cMRFu7T⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠⁠   Support the podcast: Paypal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://paypal.me/glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠⁠ Venmo: @MGrosvenor   Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 1972 Billy Joel performance doesn’t sound like the concerts he’s been performing over the last 50 years. Instead, two live recordings from that year reveal an artist still finding his way – even if a few key elements were already in place.  That year, Billy opened for Taj Mahal at the Boarding House in San Francisco on January 22. Then, he played the ill-fated and mostly-forgotten Mar Y Sol Pop Festival in Puerto Rico on April 2. The lineup is his first core live band: Al Hertzberg on guitar, Rhys Clark on drums, and Larry Russell on bass.  Despite releasing his first solo album, Cold Spring Harbor, at the end of 1971, these shows barely acknowledge those recordings. Instead, he showcases two songs that would end up on his next record and go on to become fan favorites and concert staples. And, his first foray into an international festival foreshadowed his future engagements in Cuba and the USSR.  In just a few months, Billy’s performance with this group and a similar setlist at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia would be the stepping stone to his now-classic Piano Man album. But for now, these two concert recordings show a young solo artist fighting to find his identity and forge his own path in the music world. Audio courtesy of Activer Music. - Billy Joel - Live At The Boarding House, San Francisco (January 22, 1972) - Billy Joel - Live At Mar y Sol Pop Festival, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico ( April 2, 1972) ------   Email us: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠   Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast on the web / social media: Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.glasshousespod.com⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/glasshousespodcast/⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/glasshousespod/⁠⁠⁠ Twitter / X: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠  Discord: ⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/6G6cMRFu7T⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠   Support the podcast: Paypal: ⁠⁠⁠https://paypal.me/glasshousespod⁠⁠⁠ Venmo: @MGrosvenor   Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1992 wasn’t a prolific year for Billy, nestled between the end of one of his longest tours supporting a monster hit album and releasing his final pop album the next year.  But, his decisions here would determine the next phase of his career. Throughout the year, he spent just as much time looking to the past as he did preparing for his future.  It was the year Billy began working on River Of Dreams while various record companies released his work from the late 60s with The Hassles and Attila. His only new releases were a trio of songs for movie soundtracks, each written before he became a musician, as Paul Simon inducted him into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  These and other events, releases, and milestones found Billy spending 1992 stuck somewhere between an elder statesman of music and a brash kid still playing rock and roll. ------   Email us: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠   Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast on the web / social media: Website: ⁠⁠https://www.glasshousespod.com⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/glasshousespodcast/⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/glasshousespod/⁠⁠ Twitter / X: ⁠⁠https://x.com/glasshousespod⁠⁠  Discord: ⁠⁠https://discord.gg/6G6cMRFu7T⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@glasshousespod⁠⁠   Support the podcast: Paypal: ⁠⁠https://paypal.me/glasshousespod⁠⁠ Venmo: @MGrosvenor   Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Billy Joel banked on his recent success when he wrote and recorded the 1980 album Glass Houses. The songs were much more streamlined and guitar-driven than his previous two platinum-selling releases, and arranged to be played in arenas and coliseums rather than theaters and colleges.  But, just as the record’s New Wave leanings drew ire from the critics, the Glass Houses tour received mixed reactions. Almost every pundit who applauded Joel’s songwriting and his band’s energy was met by another who felt the songs were hollow and the shows lackluster. Of course, many of the songs are still concert staples today. And, Billy still sells out the world’s largest and most celebrated venues 45 years after their release.  That makes it even harder to believe Billy’s 8 plus-month, worldwide tour from 1980 to 1981 could have been his last run at the superstar level. Join us, as we explore the dates, setlists, and reviews of Billy Joel’s Glass Houses tour. ------   Email us: ⁠[email protected]⁠   Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast on the web / social media: Website: ⁠https://www.glasshousespod.com⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/glasshousespodcast/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/glasshousespod/⁠ Twitter / X: ⁠https://x.com/glasshousespod⁠  Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/6G6cMRFu7T⁠ Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@glasshousespod⁠   Support the podcast: Paypal: ⁠https://paypal.me/glasshousespod⁠ Venmo: @MGrosvenor   Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we know Glass Houses as one of Billy Joel’s biggest albums. The 1980 release became his third-consecutive album to quickly go platinum. It kept the band playing some of the biggest venues in the world, and features a handful of songs that are still  live staples. At the time, however, it was a drastic departure from Billy’s previous hit records. He’d shed much of the classical and jazz influences that marked The Stranger and 52nd Street. The scaled-back arrangements reflected then-modern New Wave and Power Pop with a more stripped-down and guitar-driven approach.  It was the first time in arguably a decade that Billy made a conscious effort to create an album based on the popular music of the time. As a result, more critics were lukewarm, and even hostile, to the songs.  Over time, the record cemented its status as a seminal release. After all, it’s the one we named this podcast after. Now, we’re finally giving it an official listen-through.  Join us as we drop the needle on Billy Joel’s 1980 album Glass Houses. ------   Email us: [email protected]   Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast on the web / social media: Website: https://www.glasshousespod.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glasshousespodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glasshousespod/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/glasshousespod  Discord: https://discord.gg/6G6cMRFu7T Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@glasshousespod   Support the podcast: Paypal: https://paypal.me/glasshousespod Venmo: @MGrosvenor   Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Billy Joel’s 1980 release, Glass Houses, is considered classic rock in 2025. But at the time,  listeners and critics heard a huge leap into then-current New Wave – and not necessarily a good one.  The album was a stripped-down departure from the more lush arrangements on the Stranger and 52nd Street, released in 1977 and 1978  respectively. Some contemporary reviewers applauded the songwriting and genre hopping. Others, expecting something closer to Steely Dan or Dire Straits, were disappointed to hear songs much more informed by Elvis Costello and The Knack.  Ultimately, Glass Houses spawned several hit songs and concert staples including You May Be Right, Don’t Ask Me Why, and It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me. It continued Joel’s streak of chart-toppers and platinum-selling albums, and is still one of his most popular releases. In our second of four Glass Houses episodes, we’re comparing what the critics had to say in print, and how listeners responded with album and ticket sales. Join us as we dig deep into the initial mixed reception and ultimate triumph of this classic album. ------   Email us: [email protected]   Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast on the web / social media: Website: https://www.glasshousespod.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glasshousespodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glasshousespod/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/glasshousespod  Discord: https://discord.gg/6G6cMRFu7T Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@glasshousespod   Support the podcast: Paypal: https://paypal.me/glasshousespod Venmo: @MGrosvenor   Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a pair of award-winning, chart-topping albums under his belt, Billy Joel entered A&R Recording in 1979 with the intention of abandoning the sound that made him a superstar. He did so by showcasing the musicians who were instrumental to his success.  The result was Glass Houses. Released on March 12, 1980, the album lurched Billy out of the classically-informed, jazz-influenced, singer-songwriter idiom he’d cultivated over three releases. Written in the wake of Punk and New Wave, his first record of the decade was stripped down, guitar-focussed and often confrontational.  Glass Houses was the second of Billy’s solo albums, and his first since 1976 to not use session musicians. With the backing  tracks recorded almost completely live, it put his tight knit backing band, now known as the Lords of 52nd Street, front and center.  The stylistic shift yielded a platinum-selling record with a handful of Top Ten hits and concert staples to this day. It also set the precedent for Billy’s genre-hopping success throughout the 80s. But, in retrospect, it was an album that could have flopped, and one that could only have been successful in a brief timeframe.  In our first of four episodes covering Glass Houses, we’ll explore the making of the record, from what was on the charts at the time, to how the songs evolved from rough demos to polished gems, and when and how the band put it all together.  Join us as we dig deep into the making of Glass Houses.  ------   Email us: [email protected]   Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast on the web / social media: Website: https://www.glasshousespod.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glasshousespodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glasshousespod/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/glasshousespod  Discord: https://discord.gg/6G6cMRFu7T Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@glasshousespod   Support the podcast: Paypal: https://paypal.me/glasshousespod Venmo: @MGrosvenor   Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even though Billy Joel was a superstar by the 1980s, he still had to promote each new album. That included appearances on late night television shows.  Billy was never a fan of music videos or performing on television, saying music shouldn’t have to be a visual art. But as the landscape of late night shows changed over the years, he found more opportunities that suited his style.  He offset his spotlight moments on Late Night with David Letterman by sitting in with Paul Schaffer’s famed house band. His revamped live band got the spotlight in late 80s and early 90s Saturday Night Live appearances. Later, Billy debuted new songs and revisited his back catalog with his live band and members of the show’s musical groups while visiting other late-night hosts.  Then, as his 2010s renaissance blossomed with his Madison Square Garden residency, Billy guested on network programs that made the cultural leap into online and viral videos.  Join us as we dig deep into Billy Joel’s late night TV appearances from 1986 to 2024. ------   Email us: [email protected]   Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast on the web / social media: Website: https://www.glasshousespod.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glasshousespodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glasshousespod/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/glasshousespod  Discord: https://discord.gg/6G6cMRFu7T Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@glasshousespod   Support the podcast: Paypal: https://paypal.me/glasshousespod Venmo: @MGrosvenor   Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices