Billy Preston – Fifth Beatle.
Billy Preston today – recorded live during the Soul! series for WNET on February 28, 1973.
Putting out the word for more Soul representation on Past Daily, this one pops up and I’m only too thrilled to be able to offer a live concert from this amazing, legendary performer, whose list of credits fills entire library shelves and offers a virtual who’s who of collaborators, particularly during the late 60s and early 70s.
A little background, via Wikipedia, on this time period for Billy Preston:
Signed to the Beatles’ Apple label, in 1969, Preston released the album That’s the Way God Planned It, produced by George Harrison, the title song from which was a hit single in Britain. His association with Harrison continued after the Beatles’ breakup in 1970; Preston was the first artist to record Harrison’s subsequent international hit “My Sweet Lord“, on his 1970 album Encouraging Words, which Harrison co-produced with him. He appeared on several of Harrison’s 1970s solo albums, starting with All Things Must Pass; made a notable contribution to the Concert for Bangladesh, the Harrison-organized 1971 charity benefit; performed with the ex-Beatle on his 1974 tour of North America; and played at the 2002 Concert for George tribute, held at Royal Albert Hall. Preston worked on solo releases by Lennon and Ringo Starr.
In 1971, Preston left Apple and signed with Herb Alpert‘s A&M Records. The previous year, he contributed to another hit single when Stephen Stills asked to use Preston’s phrase “if you can’t be with the one you love, Love the One You’re With“, a song on Stills’s self-titled debut solo album.
Following the release of I Wrote a Simple Song on A&M, Preston’s solo career peaked at this time, beginning with 1972’s “Outa-Space“, an instrumental track that further popularized the sound of the clavinet in funk music. The song reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped Billboard‘s R&B chart, before going on to win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. “Outa-Space” sold over 1 million copies in America, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in June 1972. Later that year, Preston contributed the title song to the hit blaxploitation film Slaughter starring Jim Brown.
Over the next two years, Preston followed up with the US chart-topping singles “Will It Go Round in Circles” (which displaced Harrison’s “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” at the top on July 7, 1973) and “Nothing from Nothing“, and the number 4 hit “Space Race“. Each of the three singles sold in excess of one million copies. American Bandstand host and executive producer Dick Clark enjoyed “Space Race” so much that he used the instrumental for the mid-show break for virtually the remainder of its run.
That’s the early 70’s phase of Billy Preston’s amazing career. Press Play and dive into 1973 for the next hour. It’ll fix you right up.
And while you’re here . . .