Information AboutBilly Preston |
William Everett Preston ( September 2 1946 – June 6 2006 ) was an American Soul Music ian 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 , Elton John , Eric Clapton , Bob Dylan , Sam Cooke , King Curtis , Sammy Davis Jr. , Sly Stone , Aretha Franklin , The Jackson 5 , Quincy Jones , Richie Sambora , and Red Hot Chili Peppers . He played the electric piano on the ''Get Back'' Sessions in 1969 and is one of several people sometimes credited as the " Fifth Beatle ". He is one of two non-Beatles to receive label performance credit on any Beatles record (the other being Tony Sheridan ). 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 . He was also a regular on the mid sixties ABC -TV musical variety series SHINDIG, a member show's house band. with future star Billy Preston (age 12) on the Nat King Cole Television Show promoting the 1958 film St. Louis Blues ]] "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:
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 breakup 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 UK 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, toured with Harriosn on his 1974 tour of North America where he a highlight 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". '' American Bandstand '' host and executive producer Dick Clark enjoyed "Space Race" to the extent that he used the instrumental for the mid-show break for virtually the remainder of its run. ]] 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 on their 1973 European Tour 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 was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live 's series premiere episode (along with Janis Ian ). 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. The 1980s were leaner years for Preston. He had a hit single 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. He also toured with Ringo Starr and appeared on the 1990 live album Ringo Starr And His All-Starr Band . He was also invited to become a member of The Band in 1991, after the death of their piano player, Stan Szelest . He completed a tour, but his above-mentioned legal problems put an end to the collaboration before they had a chance to record together in the studio. While touring and fighting his own health issues, Preston received the devastating word that on 29 November , 2001 , his longtime bandmate, friend and guitarist of the 1960 s, George Harrison had died after a long battle with cancer. Preston, among many of Harrison's longtime friends had attended Concert For George in London, England , the following year after his death, to play a tribute song for him. on 1997, Billy Preston, remained in Italy at Nicolosi Productions’ studios approximately a month to record You and I. You and I contains, beyond You are so beautiful one of his most popular composition rarely sung by Preston himself, nine original themes and ballads composed and plaid by Preston and Novecento. il video: "YOU AND I" Billy Preston featuring Novecento http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy1Q7Ewqs5I http://www.nicolosiproductions.com/ Preston participated in the tribute concert '' Concert For George '' at the Royal Albert Hall and his performance of My Sweet Lord has received critical acclaim. Preston played the Hammond Organ for the show and sang "Isn't It A Pity" and "My Sweet Lord" plus backing vocals to most of the songs. Ringo Starr called him one of the greatest Hammond players of all time (in the theatrical version of the concert). 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. In 2005 he recorded "Go Where No One's Gone Before", the main title song for the . Preston played album '' 12 Songs '', and his keyboard work on '' The Road To Escondido '' by Eric Clapton and J.J. Cale . Preston made his last public appearence in late 2005 at the Los Angeles press junket for the re-release of the Concert for Bangla Desh movie. He was in good spirits and talked to many in the press. Afterwards he played a three song set of Give Me Love, My Sweet Lord and Isn;t it a pitty which featired Dhani Harrison on Guitar and Ringo Starr on drums for the final song only. There still remains an unreleased CD of Beatles covers that he had been working on for several years before his death. Many tracks from this CD were previewed by him at The Fest For Beatles Fans shows in the years before his death. DEATH Preston had battled Kidney Disease in his later years, brought on by a lifetime of alcohol and drug abuse. 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 . His funeral was held on June 20 at the Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, California . Preston is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery , Inglewood, California . TRIVIA
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY Billboard Pop Singles Chart (US)
Solo albums
Gospel albums
As a guest/session performer
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