 Billy Preston was involved in every spectrum of the entertainment industry for the past five decades. He worked with some of the most renowned artists in the music business, including The Jackson Five, Barbara Streisand, the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and most notably, the Beatles. It’s no wonder that the death of this 59-year old genius came as an utter and horrific shock to millions around the world.
Born in Houston, Preston moved to Los Angeles shortly after his parents broke up. Taking up piano lessons at the age of 3, he was just 10 years old when he played keyboards for gospel singer Mahalia Jackson.
Two years later he played the role of the young W.C. Handy in the film “St. Louis Blues.” It is here he befriended Nat King Cole, who played the adult Handy.
Daughter of Cole, singer Natalie Cole, said she appreciated Preston “and his musical genius over the two decades we crossed personal and professional paths. He is my favorite keyboardist of all time.”
In the early 1960’s, Preston went on tour and played organ with piano-phenomenas Ray Charles and Little Richard. While on tour, Preston met the Beatles for the first time in Germany.
Sometimes called the “Fifth Beatle,” Billy Preston built a strong relationship with the Beatles. This led to his signing with Apple Records. He played keyboard on landmark albums Let It Be, Abbey Road, and White Album. He appeared in the films “The Complete Beatles,” “Let It Be,” and as Sgt. Pepper in “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Preston performed at the historical final concert of the Beatles on the rooftop of Apple Records in 1969.
He went on to help the Beatles’ solo projects after they split in the late 60’s. Preston worked on John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band, Ringo Starr’s solo single “Oh My My,” and participated in George Harrison’s American Tour.
Breaking out as a solo artist in the 1970’s, he composed a set of Number 1 hit singles including the 1973 Grammy-winning “Outta Space.” He also wrote the famous wedding song with Syreeta Wright, “With You I’m Born Again,” and Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful.”
Working simultaneously with the Rolling Stones in the 70’s, he played on classic albums Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street. Due to not receiving the proper credit for tracks like “Melody,” Preston parted ways with the Stones. However, for the 1997 Bridges to Babylon album, they reunited.
“[Billy] was great fun to be with onstage when touring with us and I will miss him a lot,” said lead singer Mick Jagger.
His other credits include sessions on Aretha Franklin’s Young, Gifted, and Black, Sly and the Family Stone’s There’s A Riot Goin’ On, and Bob Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks. Preston starred as musical guest on the 1975 debut episode of “Saturday Night Live,” performing “Nothing From Nothing” and “Fancy Lady.” Miles Davis titled a song “Billy Preston” off his 1972 album Get Up With It. Just last year, Preston made a guest appearance on the hit show American Idol, while contestant Taylor Hicks sang “You Are So Beautiful.”
Also in recent years, Preston was the first black director of a late night television show  “Nightlife.” He was a regular on the UPN series “Good News” and made a cameo appearance in “Blues Brothers 2000” with B.B. King, Eric Clapton and others. Participating in the “Concert for George Harrison” at Royal Albert Hall, with the performance of “My Sweet Lord,” Preston received high praise. He was also proud of having the opportunity to accompany his mentor, Ray Charles on his last record. In early 2004, he joined Detroit’s own The Funk Brothers and Steve Winwood on their European tour.
The past few years had been rough for Billy Preston. He had battled drug and alcohol addiction, was incarcerated for cocaine and assault charges, and pleaded guilty to insurance fraud.
“[Jail] was a great lesson, an awakening. I needed to reflect, to get rid of the dead weight around me,” he later reflected. “You take the bitter with the sweet and I have to say it was my faith that kept me going. I had nothing else to fall back on.”
In November 2005 a heart infection left Preston in a coma. After his condition began to deteriorate he was taken to a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona. He never regained consciousness, said longtime manager Joyce Moore. He had battled chronic kidney failure and received a kidney transplant in 2002. The kidney failed and Preston remained on dialysis ever since. He died on June 6.
“His legacy is so huge I don’t even know where to start,” Moore said. “It’s many genres, so many years. It’s rock ‘n roll, it’s soul, it’s funk, it’s everything. He was truly, truly, truly a genius.”
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