September 2, 1946– Billy Preston was one of the absolute greatest keyboard players in pop music & probably the greatest session player of the rock era. Preston is one of several people sometimes referred to by outsiders as the “5th Beatle”. At one point during the 1969 recording sessions for Get Back, John Lennon actually proposed the idea of having him as the official “5th Beatle” (Paul: “It was bad enough with 4 Beatles”) Preston first met The Beatles in 1962 while part of Little Richard‘s touring band. The Beatles manager Brian Epstein (who was gay) had organized a Liverpool show with Little Richard with The Beatles as opening act.
They would meet again in 1969, when The Beatles were on the verge of breaking up during recording their last album to be released, Let It Be (they would later record Abbey Road which was released before to Let It Be). George Harrison had just quit the band & walked out of the studio. He took himself to a Ray Charles concert where Preston was playing organ. Harrison brought Preston back to Apple Studios, where his keen musicianship & gregarious personality calmed the tensions of the Fab Four & the recording continued.
He was born William Everett Preston in Houston, but he grew up in LA. Preston was a child prodigy on piano & organ. At just 10 years old he was performing in the bands of Gospel singers Mahalia Jackson & Andraé Crouch. When Preston was 12 years old he began a side-career as an actor. He appeared in the film St. Louis Blues (1958) playing composer W.C. Handy as a young man. In the mid-1960s, Preston was a regular on my much loved musical variety series SHINDIG! as a member of the show’s house band.
Preston collaborated with, played keyboards & recorded with: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Band, Nat King Cole, Barbra Streisand, Little Richard, Eric Burdon, Ray Charles, George Harrison, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, Sammy Davis Jr., Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5, Quincy Jones, Mick Jagger, Sly Stone, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, Red Hot Chili Peppers & Ringo Starr. He played traditional piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, & the Hammond organ.
Preston was the very first musical guest on the very first show of a brand new TV show Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975, along with the still closeted Janis Ian. He wrote Joe Cocker’s biggest hit You Are So Beautiful To Me. His terrific tune Me & Mrs. Jones is in my repertoire & was always a hit in my act. He had a string of solo & duet hits in the 1970s that were so infectious that I can still hear the groovy hooks: Outa-Space, Will It Go Round In Circles & one of my favorite songs of the era Nothing For Nothing. Preston composed & sang the duet with Syreeta Wright With You I’m Born Again which I plan to sing to The Husband when we renew our vows on our 75th anniversary, changing the lyrics to Bored Again.
Preston is the only person to get a songwriting credit with The Beatles.
It was well known in the music industry that Preston was gay, with a penchant for young male hustlers. In summer 1991, Preston was arrested for showing pornographic material to a minor, possessing cocaine & being under the influence of a controlled substance. But, who among us has not? He was fined & served 3 months house arrest. Preston admitted that he could never openly come out because his church & the music industry would have never have continued to support him.
Preston liked his drugs & untimely his drug of choice was crack. It took his life after he began using large amounts after receiving a successful kidney transplant. I think the street cocaine may have been a form of slow suicide. Preston took his final bow in 2006. He was just 59 years old.
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