Video Director Jon Small Passes

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Jon Small, a video producer/director for dozens of Nashville stars, has died of cancer at age 79.

Small’s subjects in Music City included such Country Music Hall of Fame members as Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Ricky Skaggs, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, Marty Stuart, Vince Gill, Ray Charles, and the four members of The Highwaymen — Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. He created network television specials and concert films as well as music videos.

Jonathan Craig Small was a native of Long Island whose longtime friend and collaborator was fellow Long Islander Billy Joel. The two joined the rock band The Hassles in 1964, with Small as the group’s drummer. After the band broke up in 1969, he and Joel worked as a duo dubbed Attila. Joel became a solo star in 1973. Small continued to perform as a drummer before working his way into music videos in the 1980s.

He directed Joel’s clip for “Tell Her About It” in 1983, and several more videos. He also produced six TV specials for the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. Other early credits included directing Run DMC’s duet with Aerosmith on 1986’s “Walk This Way” and producing Whitney Houston’s 1986 clip for “The Greatest Love of All.” He also worked with such pop stars as Anita Baker, Van Morrison, Twisted Sister, Sting, Luther Vandross, Kool & The Gang, Herb Alpert, Janet Jackson, Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, Chicago, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others.

Small first worked in country music in 1986 when he co-directed McEntire’s “Whoever’s In New England” video. She and he collaborated on at least seven more videos during the next nine years. By the early 1990s, Jon Small was focussed almost exclusively on country music. In 1994, he began a long association with Brooks, directing videos for “Standing Outside the Fire” (1994), “To Make You Feel My Love” (1998), and other clips, as well as three TV specials.

The videos for Jo Dee Messina’s 1998 star-making “Bye Bye” and “I’m Alright” were both directed by Small. So were Travis Tritt’s “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” (2001), Brooks & Dunn’s “It Won’t Be Christmas Without You” (2002), and Joe Diffie’s “It’s Always Somethin’” (1996). He also directed music videos for Aaron Tippin, Faith Hill, and Rascal Flatts, among others in Nashville.

Small’s television specials included Billy Joel Live at Yankee Stadium (1990), Garth Brooks in the Life of Chris Gaines (1999), Brad Paisley 5th Gear (2007), Blake Shelton: It’s All About Tonight (2010), Billy Joel Live at Shea Stadium (2011), The Highwaymen Live at Nassau Coliseum (2018), and Garth Live at Notre Dame (2018). He was a producer on A Toby Keith Classic Christmas (2007), Garth Brooks Double Live (1998), and the TV series Nashville Star (2003-08), among many other credits.

One of Small’s last projects was co-directing the music video for 2020’s “Does to Me” with Luke Combs and Eric Church. The producer/director died on Friday, Sept. 4, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Robert K Oermann
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