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Billy Preston

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Billy Preston was born in 1946 in Houston and grew up in Los Angeles. He was a child prodigy who taught himself to play, without ever having had lessons. At ten he was already accompanying gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson on the organ, and at eleven he sang on television with Nat King Cole. In 1962 he became the organist in Little Richard's band. During a performance in Hamburg he got to know The Beatles there. Later he played with Sam Cooke and Ray Charles.

Music and breakthrough

In January 1969 George Harrison brought him in during the tense recording sessions for Get Back. Preston played organ and electric piano and also stood on the roof at the band's last performance. The single Get Back was released as The Beatles with Billy Preston, the only time the group credited another musician in this way. For that reason he is called one of the fifth Beatles. On the Apple label he made That's the Way God Planned It (1969) with Harrison.

Influence

In the 1970s he scored hits of his own such as Outa-Space, with which he made the sound of the clavinet popular in funk, Will It Go Round in Circles and Nothing from Nothing. He co-wrote You Are So Beautiful for Joe Cocker and for years played keyboards with The Rolling Stones. Preston brought gospel, soul, funk and rock together in his playing. In 2021 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Get Back by The Beatles with Billy Preston. Notice Preston's electric piano, which plays along throughout the song and halfway through gets a swinging solo of its own.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: Artists