Today in Music: William Everett Billy Preston was an American musician whose work included R&B, rock, soul, funk and gospel. A virtuoso keyboardist, particularly on Hammond organ, Preston was recognized as a top session musician in the 1960s, during which he backed artists such as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and the Beatles. He then went on to achieve fame as a solo artist, with hit pop singles including Thats the Way God Planned It, Outa-Space, Will It Go Round in Circles, Space Race, and Nothing from Nothing. In addition, Preston co-wrote You Are So Beautiful, which became a number 5 hit for Joe Cocker. Preston continued to record and perform with other artists, notably George Harrison after the Beatles break-up, and Eric Clapton, and he played keyboards for the Rolling Stones on many of the groups albums and tours during the 1970s. Alongside Tony Sheridan, Preston was the only other musician to be credited on a Beatles recording: the artists on the number-one hit Get Back are given as The Beatles with Billy Preston. Since Sheridan was labeled alongside The Beat Brothers, Preston is, strictly speaking, the only artist to be labeled explicitly with The Beatles. Stephen Stills asked Preston if he could use his phrase if you cant be with the one you love, love the one youre with and created the hit song. Preston was born on September 2, 1946, in Houston, Texas. Noted as a child prodigy, by the age of ten, Preston was playing organ onstage backing several gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson, James Cleveland and Andrae Crouch. At age eleven, Preston appeared on Coles national TV show singing the Fats Domino hit, Blueberry Hill. At twelve, he appeared in the W.C. Handy biopic starring Nat King Cole: St. Louis Blues (1958), playing W.C. Handy at a younger age. In 1962, Preston joined Little Richards band as an organist, and it was while performing in Hamburg that Preston met The Beatles. In 1963, he played the organ on Sam Cookes Night Beat album, that year, he also released his own debut album, 16 Yr Old Soul, for Cookes SAR Records label. In 1965, he released the album The Most Exciting Organ Ever, and that same year performed on the rock and roll show Shindig! In 1967, he joined Ray Charles band. Following this exposure, several musicians began asking Preston to contribute to their sessions. https://youtube/watch?v=8HqyEHqEYho
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 01:16:06 +0000
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