Billy Preston RIP

And did he really play the keyboards on Abbey Road and the White Album? I had always thought he had just played them on Let It Be.

uh, what?

wiki has this:

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Pianist Billy Preston was the only artist to receive joint credit on a Beatles record, on "Get Back". Preston also played the keyboard on "Let It Be" and "Don't Let Me Down". Preston had been introduced to the Beatles during the early 1960s, but did not work with them until 1969, when Harrison invited him to join them for recording sessions in order to defuse tensions in the band. Lennon once suggested that Preston join the Beatles, but the idea was dismissed by the others, as by that time, they were on the verge of breaking up. It should be noted that on the Let it Be album where Preston's performances are used the song credits list "with Billy Preston," clearly identifying him as separate from the main group, yet also giving him a level of individuality that separated him from studio session players.

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Also I coulda sworn there were keyboard credits for Mal Evans on Rubber Soul.

He did the same thing at the Concert for George. What a phenomenal player. :(

I'm pretty sure he didn't play on it. His AMG bio they only mention LIB, and I've read a few Beatle bios, and none of them mentioned him playing on any other album but LIB. They all mention Clapton guesting on the White Album, so I don't see why they wouldn't have mentioned Preston if he had shown up. I assume they just tried to get this article out ASAP and didn't check all the facts.

nope, he didn't play on THE WHITE ALBUM, his first tune was
'I'VE GOT A FEELING.

BILLY PRESTON: LOOKING BACK
UNDATED (AP) _ On this date in 1991, singer and keyboardist Billy Preston was arrested in Malibu, California, after a 16-year-old boy reported that he was sexually attacked and shown obscene pictures. Preston was charged with exhibiting pornography, annoying a child and possessing cocaine. A year later, 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.

I didn't know it was against the law to annoy a child.

I will plan to crank Goat's Head Soup and hoist a few tonight.

He didn't play on "Miss You," though. That was Ian McLagan.

RIP Billy

[Multi-xpost: Yes, Shakey, Mal Evans was indeed credited for harmonium (or something) on Rubber soul. But only on the LP sleeve, among the *credits* themselves; as opposed to an actual single of "You Won't See Me" being released and credited to "The Beatles, With Mal Evans". THAT'S the crucial distinction.]

I think it's a shame he isn't featured more in the footage of the rooftop gig at Apple. It's almost like he isn't there, but he is, tucked away in the corner.

To be honest I don't know his solo work but I've always liked 'That's The Way God Planned It'. Maybe time to investigate further (isn't always a shame that we do this after people have died and not before)

This is the man that kept the Beatles together. After this, Abbey Road and then it all fell away for the last time. RIP dude.

Don't know about that Starbucks album either but I would prefer to remember him by his fine contributions to Neil Diamond's 12 Songs. RIP, of course.

This cat was the shit.

A legend in his lunchtime. RIP.

The Story I read Re: Preston & "Miss You" was that Billy was hanging out during a rehearsal and he started fooling around w/Watts' drum set while Charlie was having a tea or something. One of the things he came up with was the beat for "Miss You". Jagger heard him and started writing the song.

RIP Dude.

best part of the film

AND: further googling reveals a mere 150 matches for "medical insult", many of which are merely duplicates of the Billy Preston article and, frustratingly, none of which provide a precise definition. As best I can tell, it appears to be a term specifically reserved for neurological impairment up to and including brain death.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XGlu5KtpVa4&search=billy%20preston

I recall a Casey Kasem story that both "Outa-Space" and "Will It Go Round in Circles" were originally intended as B-sides until the singles were flipped. Those other sides -- Preston's own "I Wrote a Simple Song" and a neat cover of "Blackbird" -- were pretty nice also.

He did play on a rehearsal version that they played during the Get Back rehearsals though.

He actually, really did play organ on "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," the basic track of which was recorded during the Get Back sessions, which was then combined with a track recorded during the Abbey Road sessions. This fact is confirmed by many officially sanctioned Beatles books...

Yeah quite a few of the tracks from Abbey Road were rehearsed and tinkered with during the Let It Be sessions though none of the recordings from that time were used on the actual record. They were all started again from scratch.

And BTW, if anyone knows how to play in correctly - Please teach me!!!

I am currently listening to a BBC show from last Tuesday on 6 music though where they are playing a song supposedly by Billy Preston that is a gigantic keyboard workout that would shit all over the Charlatans' Indian Rope.

His estate has been caught up in a legal nightmare and a half since his passing. Great OC Weekly cover story here from Nate Jackson, who's a solid writer/reporter as well as being their main music guy.

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2015/01/the_quiet_battle_for_the_soul_of_billy_preston_is_being_fought_in_a_santa_ana_courtroom.php

Wow, just skimmed the opening re Preston's 2006 death...

Yeah, the opening is gripping and unsettling. Poor bastard. And there's a sucker punch revealed at the end as well in terms of his manager's last full conversation with him.

Gonna try to read it this weekend