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Billy Preston

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William Everett Preston (September 2 1946 – June 6 2006) was an American soul musician from Houston, Texas, raised mostly in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his successful, Grammy-winning career as a solo artist, Preston collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Little Richard, Ray Charles, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, Sammy Davis Jr., Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin, the Jackson 5, Quincy Jones, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. He played the electric piano on "Get Back" during The Beatles' rooftop concert in 1969 and is one of several people sometimes credited as the "Fifth Beatle".
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Early career

Preston began playing piano while sitting on his mother's lap at age three, and he was considered something of a prodigy on piano and organ. By the age of ten he was performing in the bands of gospel singers Mahalia Jackson and James Cleveland. At age 12 he appeared in the 1958 Paramount Pictures film St. Louis Blues, portraying blues composer W.C. Handy as a young man. In the 1960s he performed with Little Richard and Ray Charles. He also began a recording career as a solo artist with the 1965 album The Most Exciting Organ Ever.

\"The fifth Beatle\"?

He met The Beatles while on tour in Little Richard's band in 1962. The then-unknown Beatles were the opening act. The Washington Post explained their subsequent meeting:

They'd hook up again in 1969, when The Beatles were about to break up while recording their final album, "Let It Be." George Harrison, always Preston's best Beatles buddy, had quit and walked out of the studio and gone to a Ray Charles concert in London, where Preston was playing organ. Harrison brought Preston back to the studio, where his keen musicianship and gregarious personality temporarily calmed the tension.

In bootlegged "Let It Be" session tapes, one can hear several heated arguments between John Lennon and Paul McCartney about making Preston a group member (Lennon was all for it)McCartney said there is no point since the group was near it's end anyway.It would have made Preston officially "the fifth Beatle," a title he was not loath to exploit over the next three decades. Perhaps as consolation, "Get Back," the only Beatles single (depending on which chart you believe) to enter the British charts at No.1, was credited to "the Beatles with Billy Preston" -- the first and only time the band shared the spotlight with a sideman. Preston also accompanied the Beatles during their famous rooftop gig in London, the Beatles' last public performance. [link]

He went on to play on their 1970 Let It Be album and on the songs "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Something", from 1969's Abbey Road.

Post-Beatles

Signed to the Beatles' Apple label, in 1969, Preston released the album That's the Way God Planned It and a single of the same name (produced by George Harrison). His relationship with Harrison continued after the break up of The Beatles; he was the first artist to record My Sweet Lord, in his album "Encouraging Words" (the single hit number one in the U.S. and the U.K. and was the first number one by a former Beatle after they disbanded), and he was on several of George's 70's solo albums. Preston also made notable and energetic contributions to The Concert for Bangladesh, a Harrison-organised charity concert, and, after George's death, The Concert for George. Preston also worked on solo recordings by two other ex-Beatles, John Lennon and Ringo Starr.

His solo career also peaked during this timeframe, beginning with 1972's "Outa-Space", an instrumental track that further popularized the sound of the clavinet in funk music. The song reached #2 in the U.S. and won the Grammy award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Over the next two years, he followed up with the #1 hits "Will It Go Round In Circles" and "Nothing From Nothing", and the #4 hit "Space Race".

After the Beatles, Preston played keyboards for the Rolling Stones, alongside pianist Nicky Hopkins. Preston appears on the Stones' albums Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, Goats Head Soup, It's Only Rock'n Roll and Black and Blue. He toured as a support act with the Stones in 1973 and recorded his live album Live European Tour 1973 in Munich with Mick Taylor on guitar. In 1974 he composed one of Joe Cocker's biggest hits You Are So Beautiful. In 1975 he became the first musical guest on Saturday Night Live. In 1975 and 1976 he again toured with the Stones, this time getting to play two of his own songs, backed by the Stones, in the middle of every concert. The Stones and Preston parted company in 1977, mainly due to a row over money. He continued to play on solo records by Stones members and made an appearance again on the Stones' 1997 Bridges to Babylon album.

Billy Preston as Sgt. Pepper
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Billy Preston as Sgt. Pepper

The 1980s were lean years for Preston. He did have a hit in 1980 with Syreeta Wright with the ballad "With You I'm Born Again" that reached number four on the charts. He was arrested and convicted for insurance fraud after setting fire to his own house in Los Angeles, and he was treated for alcohol and cocaine addictions. In 1991 he entered no-contest pleas to the cocaine and assault charges. He was sentenced to nine months at a drug rehabilitation center and three months of house arrest.

Preston managed to conquer his problems in the early 1990s, toured with Eric Clapton, and recorded with a wide range of artists.

Preston participated in the tribute concert "Concert for George Harrison" at the Royal Albert Hall and his performance of My Sweet Lord has received critical acclaim. He also recorded on Ray Charles final album. He toured with The Funk Brothers and Stevie Winwood in Europe in early 2004 and then with his friend Eric Clapton in Europe and North America. It has been claimed that his big contribution to the Beatles' sound was made clear with the release of the Let It Be... Naked album.

Preston played clavinet on the song "Warlocks" for the Red Hot Chili Peppers album Stadium Arcadium released in 2006. Although very ill he jumped out of his bed after hearing a tape of the song given to him by the band, recorded his part, and went back to bed [link]. Preston's final contribution was playing Gospel-tinged organ on the Neil Diamond album, 12 Songs.

Death

Preston had battled kidney disease in his later years. Although he received a kidney transplant in 2002, his health continued to deteriorate. He died on June 6, 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona, of complications of malignant hypertension that resulted in kidney failure and other complications. He had been in a coma since November 21, 2005.

Trivia

Selected discography

Billboard Pop Singles Chart (US)

Solo albums

Gospel albums

As a guest/session performer

External links

 

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