Many people were credited "The Fifth Beatle" during the band's existence, from producer George Martin to manager Brian Epstein, from Eric Clapton to Yoko Ono. Of all those who could lay claim to that title, though, Billy Preston might have the best case. Only problem is, it wouldn't begin to describe his accomplishments accurately.
Preston was born in Houston, and was a child prodigy on piano and (especially) organ. By the age of ten he was backing up gospel legend Mahalia Jackson on the keyboards. Preston was a very hot, in-demand session pianist during the 60's, backing up Sam Cooke and making regular appearances on the pop TV show Shindig. Then, towards the end of the decade, the Beatles chose to make Preston immortal.
He was recruited for the sessions of the Fab Four's Let It Be album and played keyboards throughout. His most memorable moment is his part on "Get Back," in which he tore into an electric piano solo. Preston's part was so distinctive that "Get Back" became the first and only single in which the Beatles shared a label credit: "The Beatles featuring Billy Preston." Preston played on a couple of songs from Abbey Road, and continued to associate with the Beatles after they broke up, particularly George Harrison who recruited Billy for The Concert for Bangladesh.
During the 70's Preston played keyboards for so many artists that it's almost pointless to mention them. However, I'll name a few of the big ones: The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Stephen Stills, Peter Frampton, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Al Green, etc-etc-etc. Billy's only big mistake was appearing in the horrid movie musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but that was the big mistake for a lot of people. For what it's worth, Preston -- who actually played the part of "Sgt. Pepper" -- sang "Get Back" in the movie, and handled it fine.
Oh, I haven't even talked about Preston's own recordings. He did a lot of those too. His first hit of noticeable impact was the gospel-pop standard "That's the Way God Planned It." Later in the decade Preston released two #1 pop hits, both of them among the best 30 or so soul hit singles of the decade: "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from Nothing." I love those songs. "Circles" in particular was one of the first AM hits I remember hearing as a child. Preston also recorded funky, electro-keyboard instrumentals that charted well, including "Outta Space" and "Space Race," which was used as the instrumental "bumper" music between segments on American Bandstand. Towards the decade's end, or maybe the next one's beginning, Preston had a #1 hit with Syreeta, the syrup ballad "With You I'm Born Again." It was the last major hit under his own name.
The 1980's were Preston's lost decade, as he ran into addiction problems and was charged with insurance fraud for burning down his own house. He recuperated in the 1990's, and went back on the road with Eric Clapton. In the oughts, Preston was back in demand as a session player, backing up a positively sick, wide range of folks: Christina Aguilera, alt-rockers Fastball and Jet, Ritchie Sambora, Macy Gray, Elton John -- aw, man, it's just ridiculous.
Producer Rick Rubin, in particular, harvested Preston's talents towards the end of his life, calling upon the player for the final two Johnny Cash albums, Neil Diamond's great 12 Songs, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium, which just hit #1.
I've completed two episodes of the Shrug Festival podcast series "High Cheekbones," which focuses on the singles of the 1970's. For my background music during my long-winded between-song narrations, I've called upon two Preston songs, the above-mentioned instrumentals, as background. They evoke a loose, greasy groove, and are almost as hummable as the Preston songs that actually contain lyrics.
Such is the utilitarian handiness of Billy Preston's talents that every pop star wanted to have handy. On the basis of his wide range of clients and the sheer amount of work he did, he's one of the greatest session musicians of all time. Even that compliment feels like it's leaving something important out.
