September 2nd, 2020 would have been the 74th birthday of the funkiest man in “Outa-Space” with the craziest afro on the planet.
Billy Preston was a master keyboardist and singer-songwriter that gave us THIS song as well as; ‘Nothing from Nothing’, ‘The Way God Planned It’, and 2 of the finest ballads in ‘Born Again’ and the Joe Cocker popularized ‘You Are So Beautiful’, and then some.
As a session musician in the 60s, you can hear his handiwork behind the voices of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and the Every Brothers, which eventually led him to John, Paul, George, and Ringo where he earned the moniker “The 5th Beatle” for his studio contributions to their final 2 albums: ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Abbey Road’ and then AGAIN some.
The greatest testament to talent comes from the calibre of peer that sings ones praises: Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Miles Davis, Rick Wakeman (YES)… and the list goes on.
His troubled life ended in June 2006 but his life’s work is out there for all to discover and explore.
Leave a Reply