Musician. A soul musician born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Los Angeles, California, he was a child prodigy on piano and organ who eventually was mentored by and played with Ray Charles. He played a young W.C. Handy in the biopic, "St. Louis Blues" (1958). Often called the Fifth Beatle because he played keyboards for The Beatles on "The White Album" (1968), "Abbey Road" (1969) and "Let It Be" (1970). He was the only guest artist to get a credit on a Beatles single when "Get Back" was credited as "The Beatles with Billy Preston" and entered the United Kingdom's Singles Chart at #1 in 1969. He also performed frequently with The Rolling Stones, most notably on their hit song "Miss You," and often played with Eric Clapton. He was one of the first artists signed to The Beatles' Apple Records label along with James Taylor, and was subsequently signed to A&M Records in 1971. His own hits include: "That's The Way God Planned It," "Nothing From Nothing," "Will It Go Round in Circles," the international hit "You Are So Beautiful," "With You I'm Born Again" (duet with Syreeta) and "Outa-Space," which won a Best Instrumental Grammy Award in 1973. He most recently played on the 2005 re-release of the album, "The Concert for Bangladesh" (1971) by longtime friend George Harrison and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' album, "Stadium Arcadium" (2006) for the song "Warlocks." His discography lists 38 albums, 18 of them solo performances. He was the first musical guest to appear on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1975. He died in Scottsdale, Arizona, at age 59 of long-term complications from kidney failure related to malignant hypertension. In 2021, Billy Preston was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame via the Award for Musical Excellence.
Musician. A soul musician born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Los Angeles, California, he was a child prodigy on piano and organ who eventually was mentored by and played with Ray Charles. He played a young W.C. Handy in the biopic, "St. Louis Blues" (1958). Often called the Fifth Beatle because he played keyboards for The Beatles on "The White Album" (1968), "Abbey Road" (1969) and "Let It Be" (1970). He was the only guest artist to get a credit on a Beatles single when "Get Back" was credited as "The Beatles with Billy Preston" and entered the United Kingdom's Singles Chart at #1 in 1969. He also performed frequently with The Rolling Stones, most notably on their hit song "Miss You," and often played with Eric Clapton. He was one of the first artists signed to The Beatles' Apple Records label along with James Taylor, and was subsequently signed to A&M Records in 1971. His own hits include: "That's The Way God Planned It," "Nothing From Nothing," "Will It Go Round in Circles," the international hit "You Are So Beautiful," "With You I'm Born Again" (duet with Syreeta) and "Outa-Space," which won a Best Instrumental Grammy Award in 1973. He most recently played on the 2005 re-release of the album, "The Concert for Bangladesh" (1971) by longtime friend George Harrison and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' album, "Stadium Arcadium" (2006) for the song "Warlocks." His discography lists 38 albums, 18 of them solo performances. He was the first musical guest to appear on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1975. He died in Scottsdale, Arizona, at age 59 of long-term complications from kidney failure related to malignant hypertension. In 2021, Billy Preston was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame via the Award for Musical Excellence.
Bio by: Fred Beisser
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