For folks who share the Bent's vintage, Billy Preston was an omnipresent figure in the worlds of R&R and R&B. He hit our musical awareness in the early '60s when he was touring with Little Richard. The Beatles opened for them in a Hamburg club.
The next time Billy toured Britain, with Ray Charles, he and George Harrison met, leading to the Beatles signing him to their new Apple label.
The rest is history. Considered by many as the real "Fifth Beatle" he played on Let it Be, and the famous rooftop set, the Beatles last live performance. He played with John and George post-Beatles, recorded and toured with the Stones, toured with Eric Clapton, performed with Sly Stone, starred in The Concert for Bangla Desh, and was the first musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
Billy's own hits include Will It Go 'Round in Circles, Nothing From Nothing, and You Are So Beautiful, which he wrote for Joe Cocker. He died yesterday, in Scottsdale, where he had been in a coma since last November, just over two months after this picture was taken at Bumbershoot, September 4th, 2005.
Keep goin' around in circles.
Very nicely said...we should all be so well remembered
Posted by: Bob M | June 07, 2006 at 10:27 PM