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Billy Joel's new documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, premiered on June 4, 2025, at the Tribeca Film Festival. However, the Vienna hitmaker could not attend the event since he was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) in May 2025 and had to cancel tour dates, as informed by his team via Instagram.
Joel's first wife, Elizabeth Weber, along with Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Mariska Hargitay, and Peter Hermann, were in attendance.
In the new documentary, both Joel and Weber shared how they met. When the singer was in his 20s, he was part of a band called Attila with his best friend, Jon Small. Joel moved in with Small, Elizabeth Weber, who was then Small's wife, and their son. As the two spent more time, they fell in love. Weber's husband found out, and their friendship fell out.
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"I felt very, very guilty about it. They had a child. I felt like a homewrecker. I was just in love with a woman and I got punched in the nose which I deserved. Jon was very upset. I was very upset," the singer stated in the documentary.
Years later, Joel and Weber reconnected and got married in 1973. She became his manager. In 1982, the couple got divorced. While attending the premiere, Weber told People magazine on the red carpet that their marriage was "great."
"It was great then, it's great whenever I think about it, and it's great now," Weber said.
Billy Joel opened up about his depression and suicide attempts in the new documentary
The Piano Man singer shared that after the fallout with Jon Small and the disbandment of Attila, he got depressed. Billy Joel was sleeping in laundromats and decided to end his life. His sister, Judy Molinari, was a medical assistant and gave him sleeping pills to help him rest. He overdosed on the pills and was brought to a hospital.
"I had no place to live. I was sleeping in laundromats and I was depressed I think to the point of almost being psychotic. So I figured, 'That’s it. I don't want to live anymore.' I was just in a lot of pain and it was sort of like why hang out, tomorrow is going to be just like today is and today sucks. So, I just thought I'd end it all," Joel stated.
The singer eventually recovered. However, he again attempted to commit suicide reportedly by drinking a bottle of Lemon Pledge, which is a brand of furniture polish. This time, Jon Small brought him to the hospital and saved his life. Small stated in the documentary that Joel never opened up about his depression, and he forgave Billy Joel because he was suffering a lot.
"He never really said anything to me, the only practical answer I can give as to why Billy took it so hard was because he loved me that much and that it killed him to hurt me that much. Eventually I forgave him," Small said.
Billy Joel admitted himself into an "observation ward" and, after a few weeks, was released. There, he decided to channel his emotions into music.
"I got out of the observation ward and I thought to myself, you can utilize all those emotions to channel that stuff into music," the singer said.
According to ABC News report dated June 5, 2025, Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, the directors of Billy Joel: And So It Goes, passed along a message from the singer at the premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. They stated that Joel is recovering and will return to the stage. On May 23, 2025, his team announced on Instagram that he is currently receiving physical therapy.
