Billy Joel’s First Wife – Elizabeth Weber Small Wiki (Bio, Age, Kids, Family, Net Worth)
Billy Joel is a big name in the music industry. The 6-time Grammy award winner has several songs that are timeless classics. Even though he built a successful name for himself over the years, he hasn’t been lucky in the area of relationship. He has continued to search for true love. All he wants is not someone who loves him for what he has or what they can get from him but for who he is. Unfortunately, true love is not very easy to come by and Billy has experienced the worst in this regard.
One of the women who succeeded in carving a deep scar on his heart was Elizabeth Weber, his first wife. He thought she would be his salvation when he married her during his 20s. However, things turned out to be the opposite.
Although, their relationship started scandalously as Elizabeth was already a wife and had a son for Jon Small, the drummer of “The Hassles,” a rock group which Billy was a part of. Jon and Billy were very close and even started their band, which they called “Attila.” From the first time Billy set his eyes on Jon’s wife, he got infatuated with her and did all that was in his power to get her to himself.
In an interview with Fred Schruers, Billy noted that when he first met Elizabeth, she wasn’t like a typical American girl that he knew. She couldn’t cook or take care of a home, but she was very seductive. Perhaps that was what fascinated him about her.
When Elizabeth’s husband, Jon, found out about her affair with Billy, it brought their musical partnership to an abrupt end. As a result of what had happened, Elizabeth ran away from the both of them and couldn’t be found anywhere for many weeks. This also led to the failure of Billy’s musical career and led to him being suicidal. Elizabeth later came back to him, and they got married in 1973.
Billy Joel got Inspiration for Many of His Songs from his Relationship with Elizabeth
Most people involved in works of art like Musicians are known to draw inspiration for their works from real-life events happening in their life or around them. This is the case with Billy Joel as he has attributed many of his hit tracks to have been inspired by his relationship with Elizabeth. Some of such songs include “She’s Always a Woman,” “She’s Got a Way,” and “Just The Way You Are.”
Elizabeth, a Tough Unfeminine Lady
After Billy’s marriage to Elizabeth, she made him assign the role of his manager to her and handled his financial affairs. According to those who worked with her, she was a good negotiator and was responsible for many of Billy’s contracts and business deals. This earned her the unfeminine tag due to her style of doing business, which was very effective.
In one of his songs, he described her as a woman who can ruin a person’s faith with lies and reveals only what she wants to be seen.
During Billy’s days with Elizabeth, all his close allies worried about him as they could see that she was manipulating and controlling him. Beyond that, she was very rude and into a rock and roll lifestyle.
Elizabeth Loved Money More
Elizabeth never hid her love for money, and it was glaring for everyone around to notice. Although Billy was very quick to attribute his inspiration to her on many occasions, she was always quick to demand her share of any money made from songs he attributed to her. Even though she was earning well as his manager, she was not satisfied with that; she was entitled to 50% of his wealth. On one occasion where she was celebrating her birthday, she demanded to publish the new song that he just played to her at the occasion.
In 1982, the couple finally filed for a divorce. However, Billy was not ready to throw in the towel, so he tried his best to win back her love. Part of his move to get her back made him purchase a $4million house for her, where she lived together with her son until 1997. All efforts to get her back failed, and he got involved in a bike accident, which affected his two hands. Due to the messy divorce, Billy had thought that his musical career, which was already in jeopardy, would spring back up if his wife came back as his support. However, Elizabeth had other plans. She paid him a visit in the hospital where he was admitted and handed him a contract that would see all his wealth and possession transferred to her. This was the last straw that broke the Camel back for Billy. He blatantly refused to sign the contract, noting that even though he may have been a fool for love all their years together, he was not completely out of his senses. According to Billy, that event killed all the passion he had for her right there and then.
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Elizabeth’s Brother Involvement in Fraud
When Elizabeth was still married to Billy and played the role of his manager, she lobbied Frank (her brother) into the organization. According to Billy, that was one of his biggest mistakes in life. Frank was allowed to oversee Billy’s Finances. During Elizabeth’s divorce from Billy, Frank supported Billy rather than his sister, which made him continue to work in the organization after his sister had parted ways with his boss.
Billy later discovered that Elizabeth’s brother had been fleecing his account dry for a long time. At this point, Frank had succeeded in stealing several tens of millions from the organization. Billy sued him for $30million contemporary damages and $60 million punitive damages. However, Billy had to settle for an out of court settlement of $3 million after Frank filed for bankruptcy. This was a serious blow to Billy that he may forever live to remember. He made mention of the event in his autobiography.
