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Billy Preston

A Houston-born organist and singer who played behind gospel singers as a child, joined the Beatles in the Get Back sessions, and was the first outside artist credited on a Beatles single.

Origin
Houston, Texas; raised in Los Angeles
Years active
1956-2005
Genres
soul, R&B, funk, gospel, rock
Labels
Derby, Vee-Jay, Capitol, Apple, A&M, Motown
Also known as
William Everett Preston

A child organist

William Everett Preston was born on September 2, 1946 in Houston and raised in Los Angeles. Self-taught, he was playing organ behind gospel singers, including Mahalia Jackson, by about the age of 10. At 11 he appeared on Nat King Cole's NBC show, and in 1958 he played the young W. C. Handy in the film St. Louis Blues. In 1960 he was pianist for Andrae Crouch with the Church of God in Christ Singers.

In 1962 he joined Little Richard's band as organist and met the Beatles in Hamburg; he later told the NME that they dedicated "A Taste of Honey" and "Love Me Do" to him. He played organ on Sam Cooke's Night Beat in 1963, made 16 Yr. Old Soul (Derby) that year, The Most Exciting Organ Ever (Vee-Jay) in 1965, and in 1967 joined Ray Charles's band.

The Beatles and Apple

In January 1969 he joined the Beatles' Get Back sessions, playing on the rooftop concert. "Get Back" (April 1969) was credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston", the only such credit for an outside artist on a Beatles single; he also played on "Something" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" on Abbey Road. He signed to Apple, where George Harrison produced That's the Way God Planned It (1969), and Encouraging Words (1970), co-produced by Harrison and Preston.

From 1970 he worked on Rolling Stones records, including Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St., Goats Head Soup, It's Only Rock 'n Roll and Black and Blue, and toured with them as keyboardist from 1973 to 1977. A Grammy came for the Concert for Bangladesh, which won Album of the Year at the 15th ceremony.

A&M and later years

At A&M from 1971 his singles included "Outa-Space" (1972, number two on the Hot 100, number one R&B, which won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance), and "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from Nothing", both number one in 1973. He co-wrote "You Are So Beautiful" with Bruce Fisher in 1974, a hit for Joe Cocker. On October 11, 1975 he was the first musical guest on Saturday Night Live. "With You I'm Born Again", a duet with Syreeta Wright, reached number four in the US in 1979, when he signed to Motown.

He played at the Concert for George in 2002, on Ray Charles's Genius Loves Company in 2004 and at the American Idol finale in 2005. His last recorded contribution was clavinet on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium. He died on June 6, 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona, aged 59. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Musical Excellence Award in 2021, introduced by Ringo Starr, who said Billy was a Beatle and Billy was a Rolling Stone.

Records

Songs

George Harrison

Where to go next

Reference

Discography and data

Writing and criticism

Fan sites and communities

Sources

  1. Billy Preston, Wikipedia
  2. Billy Preston discography, Wikipedia
  3. Billy Preston, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  4. Billy Preston, uDiscover Music