Certainly there were nuggets to pick up about Joel’s life that felt fresh, however much has already been mined. But there was certainly one major revelation to speak of: Weber herself. (Variety reports)
As his first wife and his manager during his 1970s breakout years, she has certainly loomed large in Joel lore, but not because she was doing anything to add to any of this historical discourses herself.
She’d remained pretty much silent for the better part of four and a half decades, since leaving the marriage and eventually her management position.
Her inclusion in the “And So It Goes” doc was hardly a minimal one, after she reluctantly agreed. A lot of viewers found her the most captivating presence in Part 1 of the doc, with obvious screen charisma that established her as a leading lady after all these years — playing a character that Hollywood couldn’t have invented better, the manager-muse.
Weber was unquestionably a major factor in Joel making incremental jumps in his early year and then the leap to superstar with his album “The Stranger”… in part because she first inspired what would turn out to be his biggest song, “Just the Way You Are,” and then was part of the team arguing for it to be recorded and issued as a single. Her business acumen was an undertold story, before “So It Goes,” and it’s worth retelling in the history of how women impacted the music biz at a time when it was almost exclusively a boys’ club.
Below an excerpt of Variety's interview. You can read it in full on Variety here
You and Billy haven’t had a conversation about how watching the documentary made either of you feel, have you? It sounds like you have a cordial but not super-close relationship.
I think Sean said it most succinctly in the film: If Bill could talk about his feelings, he couldn’t write those songs. Although he’s not really writing now; he has the other things he has to deal with right now. We’ve been divorced for 40 years. We’re as friendly as we need to be. I know where to find him if I want something. When he wanted to talk to me about making this, he knew how to find me. But also, he’s married to somebody. I mean, how would you like your husband going off to work and singing about his ex-wife? Probably not so much! So, I’m good. I’ve had a lot of love in my life. We’re as friendly as we should be, could be, wanna be.
