The Piano Man’s origin story isn’t the feel-good narrative you’d expect from America’s beloved songwriter. Billy Joel‘s new HBO documentary “And So It Goes,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2025 before its July HBO debut, reveals the darkest period of his life—one that nearly ended before his musical career began. In his early twenties, Joel’s affair with Elizabeth Weber, wife of his Attila bandmate Jon Small, triggered a psychological breakdown that led to two suicide attempts and fundamentally shaped his artistic voice.
Brinkley’s recent comments shed light on a darker chapter behind the music. Your understanding of songs like “Piano Man” and “Vienna” deepens when you realize they came from a man who nearly didn’t survive to write them. For more on this pivotal moment in Billy Joel’s unraveling, read on.
The late 1960s found Joel living with Small, Weber, and their child in what seemed like a bohemian musician’s paradise. That arrangement crumbled when Joel confessed his feelings for Weber to Small. “I felt like a homewrecker,” Joel admits in the documentary. “I was just in love with a woman, and I got punched in the nose, which I deserved.” The confession destroyed both the band and the friendship. Weber left both men, leaving Joel homeless and drinking heavily in laundromats.
Joel’s sister Judy, working as a medical assistant, innocently provided sleeping pills to help him rest. Instead, Joel consumed the entire bottle in a suicide attempt that left him comatose for days. “I went to go see him in the hospital, and he was laying there white as a sheet. I thought that I’d killed him.” Judy recalls. Surviving that overdose didn’t end Joel’s crisis. The documentary captures how his recovery period became a creative crucible, with hospital visits and therapy sessions providing the emotional raw material for what would become his signature introspective songwriting style. Details on Billy Joel’s suicide attempts and their aftermath are available from CBS Austin.
Joel’s second suicide attempt involved drinking lemon-scented furniture polish. Despite their strained relationship, Jon Small intervened and rushed him to the hospital, saving his life. This critical moment led Joel to check into a psychiatric observation ward, marking a turning point in his battle with addiction.
That emotional turmoil directly fueled Joel’s debut album “Cold Spring Harbor” (1971). Songs like “Tomorrow Is Today,” “Why Judy Why,” and “She’s Got a Way”—the latter inspired by Weber herself—transformed his darkest moments into musical gold. The documentary’s impact extends beyond entertainment, arriving during unprecedented conversations about artists’ mental health. Modern music therapy programs now use Joel’s journey as a case study in how creative expression can serve as both catharsis and healing. Organizations like MusiCares, the Recording Academy’s mental health initiative, cite Joel’s openness as helping destigmatize therapy within the music industry. Explore Cold Spring Harbor’s legacy and its influence on Joel’s career.
