Opinions of Billy Preston's career?

What are opinions of Billy Preston here? Was he a viable musician or was he riding on his Beatles connection? I was having this same conversation with a coworker and he was In The latter camp. I'm not a huge fan and am only familiar with his hits and appearance on Bangladesh. Would he have made an impact on the music scene without his Beatles connection? Whaddya think?

 

Moderately successful

 

When I heard his hit singles on the radio in the 1970s, and saw his photo on the inner sleeve of Goats Head Soup, I didn't know that he had recorded with the Beatles. The "Let It Be" film came and went quickly from the theaters and I never saw it. I did not have the Beatles singles which had his name on the record. The "Hey Jude" album released in 1970 did not mention him, or have any sidemen information for that matter.

It was only years later that I really learned about his connection to the Beatles. So I think he was a viable musician.

 

Love Billy Preston. Great musician with a style and feel of his own. He's very much a musician's musician. The people that worked with him obviously loved what he contributed to the overall chemistry in the music. His presence on everything he had done had always been for the better. Loved his work on the Concert For George, singing lead on "My Sweet Lord" and that organ solo...fantastic.

Here's one my favorites of his:

 

Billy "Melody" Preston (it was a second name)

 

Good musician. Probably a fun guy to be with. Also, many members of the British royalty of rock enjoyed having an "authentic" black American in their sphere. Billy was one of the recipients of this good will. He was smart enough to hang out in England, where he could sort of be a big fish in a small pond. He probably would have been overlooked in the bigger pond of the USA if he remained in the USA exclusively.

Arnie

 

His work before the Beatles and Stones is far more interesting, IMHO.

For instance, he played the soulful organ on Ray Charles' "In The Heat Of The Night", I always thought it was Ray who played that until I learned otherwise when the ABC singles box came out a couple years ago

 

Two of his great songs were on the THE KIDS AND ME lp. Everyone know Nothing From Nothing, but Sad, Sad Song is perhaps the strongest track on the LP.

I like his 60's instrumental tracks.

 

Billy Preston was an incredibly gifted musician as well as being a fine singer and songwriter. He was a child prodigy who was playing piano at age three and directing his church choir at age six. When folks like Ray Charles, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Eric Clapton, The Band, and so many others in the same league are recruiting one to play on their recordings and tours, then clearly, that person is a brilliant musician. Billy Preston, along with Leon Russell, are probably the two most in demand session keyboard players of their era. Billy was a soulful genius.

 

Very talented dude, obviously.
His dual appetites for cocaine and young boys didn't do him any favors, though.

 

Nothing from nothing got him nothing. And he needed something.

 

The guy has actually had a great career, but somehow he would always get overshadowed by forces bigger than his own. For example, he wrote and recorded the original version of the famous Joe Cocker hit "You Are So Beautiful." He was a great musician, and like others have said, probably a fun guy to be around. His performance of "That's The Way God Planned It" is one of my favorite moments on Bangladesh.

 

Until I read Tune In I did not know that he had first met the Beatles in 1962 when he was in Little Richards' band.

 

I like Billy he made The Beatles BEHAVE! at least for a moment....

 

I think the fact that several musicians, incredibly talented in their own right, sought him out speaks volumes about his musicianship. Dude was a legend.

 

Billy Preston is great, and was an artist separate and apart from the Beatles. "Will It Go Round In Circles", "Nothing From Nothing"--great songs! He was a sought after sideman, playing on tours with Clapton, The Rolling Stones and others. He was more than a sideman, and less than a major star in his own right, but a solid and funky musician. Did he play up his Beatles connection? Probably, but so what. Guy's gotta make a living. In Life, Keith rags on him for being too flamboyant while on tour with the Stones, stating that Preston didn't understand that he was the keyboardist for the Stones and that the show wasn't billed Billy Preston with The Rolling Stones, but then I find it hard to find sympathy for a guy who slags on his bandmate's ***** size in a book for all to read.

 

In my opinion Billy Preston was a very talented performer, who paid his dues early in his career, was in the right places at the right times (Beatles, et. al.) and was smart enough to take advantage of the breaks that came his way. Was he the best keyboard player or singer - I don't think so. But he was excellent at what he did, and to give The Beatles connection too much credit diminishes his talent. IMHO, this song is fantastic!

 

Preston is without question a viable musician.

 

The only man the Beatles ever gave co-performer credit to.

 

Love the fact that two thirds of Cream are jamming on this track. Eric and Ginger add nicely to a beautiful song.

 

Didn't he play the bass on "miss you," too..?

 

He wasn't that 'successful" but IMO he was one of the greatest musicians of his generation.

 

He had an amazing string of hits in the short period from 1972-1974, plus he co-wrote and originally recorded Joe Cocker's monster hit "You Are So Beautiful". For some reason the hits came to an abrupt stop with the exception of "With You I'm Born Again", a duet with Syreeta Wright, that I have not heard on the radio since its 1979 chart run.

One thing I recently learned was that Billy Preston was significantly younger than the Beatles. He was only 22 years old during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions.

I wonder if he would've had any hits had he stayed with Apple in the early 70s. By 1971 I think Badfinger was the only non-Beatle act to score a hit and I'd attibute some of their Straight Up era chart success to Allan Steckler. I'm not sure Steckler would've given Preston the same amount of attention.

 

I've got "Music is my life" which is pretty good. Does anybody know about his VeeJay album or Capitol LP? They worth searching for?