The name of Billy Joel's heavy rock duo with Jon Small was Attila.
Joel and drummer Jon Small formed Attila in 1969 after both left the Long Island band the Hassles. The unusual duo had no conventional guitar or bass lineup: Joel played organ and supplied bass lines through the keyboard, while Small played drums. Their sound mixed hard rock with psychedelic influences.
Attila recorded one self-titled album, released in July 1970. It did not chart and received harsh reviews, and the duo broke up later that year. The project is often treated as a strange but revealing episode in Joel's pre-solo career, before his breakthrough as the Piano Man.
A common mix-up is confusing Attila with the Hassles. The Hassles were the larger group Joel and Small belonged to before forming their duo; Attila was the short-lived two-man offshoot. Small later became a prominent music-video director and continued collaborating with Joel.