|
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Billy Preston. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | Aw man... what from? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Now that sucks....he was like in his early 60's? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Man that stinks. Concert for George, his vocals on "My Sweet Lord" were the highlght of the whole damn show. I'm really saddened by this.
Dave |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Guy "sat in" on a lotta' MusicalHistory . . . |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | Shindig..... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
September 2004
Posts: 1180
Location: Vermont USA | Billy was a great musician one to be remembered.
Pauly |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | From the news services:
Billy Preston, the exuberant keyboardist who landed dream gigs with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and enjoyed his own series of hit singles, including "Outta Space" and "Nothing From Nothing," died Tuesday at 59.
Preston's longtime manager, Joyce Moore, said Preston had been in a coma since November in a care facility and was taken to a hospital in Scottsdale Saturday after his condition deteriorated.
"He had a very, very beautiful last few hours and a really beautiful passing," Moore said by telephone from Germany. "He went home good."
Preston, who had battled chronic kidney failure, had undergone a kidney transplant in 2002, but the kidney failed and he has been on dialysis treatments ever since, Moore said earlier this year.
Known for his big smile and towering afro, Preston was a teen prodigy on the piano and organ, and lent his gospel-tinged touch to classics such as the Beatles' "Get Back" and the Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking?"
He broke out as a solo artist in the 1970s, winning a best instrumental Grammy in 1973 for "Outta Space," and scoring other hits with "Will It Go 'Round In Circles," "Nothing From Nothing" and "With You I'm Born Again," a duet with Syreeta Wright. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | That's The Way God Planned It. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 2150
Location: Orlando, FL | Too bad. Great performer and reportedly a good guy. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Sometimes God don't plan too well from our point of view.
Sad to see him go, he was a great one. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 863
Location: Central Florida | Sad news indeed. :(
He was a heck of a musician, and as someone already pointed out, a pretty good guy too. He may be the only musician to have played with all three of my top three favorites: The Beatles (collectively and separately), Eric Clapton and Glen Campbell. He'll be missed. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2004
Posts: 1388
Location: Paris/France | Another part of the Beatles has gone away!!
I can't imagine "let it be" without this great artist on the keyboards.
On the movie version of that great song, one verse was changed into "There will be no sorrow".
Tonight, I've got so much pain...
Jérôme |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2004
Posts: 629
Location: Houston, Texas | Somewhere I've got a video recording of a live concert where he played with Eric Clapton. On 'Have You Ever Loved a Woman' he brought the house down with his solo transition from a slow blues derge to a rockin', wailing finish. Just amazing, I've never seen a bigger grin on Clapton's face.
I'm sad to hear the news. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | :rolleyes:
;)
What's with the size of the president's tie? Can you believe the styles back then?
Compliments of ProfessorBB. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | This is a sick thought, but when that picture of the three of them was taken, who would have guessed that Ford would be the last one living... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | really . . . . |
|
| |
|
Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | The Clapton video is "One More Car, One More Rider", from 2001....Billy was part of EC's band for that. One of the highlights is towards the end when Billy does "Will It Go Round In Circles?".....
His finest moment, IMHO, was "That's The Way God Planned It" on the Bangla Desh movie/soundtrack.....simply ELECTRIC. I'll always remember Billy dancing across the stage near the end.
Billy, we'll remember you.....
Roger |
|
| |
|
Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | I'd been told that if The Beatles had a 5th member, Billy Preston was it. His contributions in the "Let It Be" album was definitely noteworthy. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | (I think) I read somewhere that the very LAST Beatles song t'be recorded in a studio was Harrison's "I Me Mine". . .
Billy was a HUGE part o' that tune. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Hmmmmm......I thought "Abbey Road" was recorded AFTER the songs for "Let It Be"......
Billy's contributions were tremendous, no matter when they were chronologically.
Roger |
|
| |
|
Joined:
April 2003
Posts: 2503
Location: Fayetteville, NC | I read this earlier and was really saddened by the loss. While Billy's Contribution as a keyboardist/Vocalist with other groups has been well documented, He had a great collection of his own Hits Too! "Nothing from Nothing" "Will It Go round in Circles" and great instrumentals Like "Out a Sight" just to name a few. at 59 he was much too young to go.
R.I.P Billy, We'll miss you! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 782
Location: Waurika OK | Billy Preston brought the house down more than once on One More Car, One More Rider. Great performer, lots of fun to watch and he obviously enjoyed performing.
Too bad. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 370
Location: Isle of Man, UK | Indeed.
I wasn't aware that much of him, but seeing him at the Concert for George DVD was enough for me. Anyone invited to join the company of (like their music or not, they're all good people) EC, Andy Fairweather-Low, Paul McCartney, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty etc in George Harrison's honour must be one of nature's good guys.
Billy - you rocked, fella.
JB |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 4413
| Great talent and way too young to be gone. Sad day. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | ". . Hmmmmm......I thought "Abbey Road" was recorded AFTER the songs for "Let It Be" . . ."
Okay, . . I was up VERY late last night ripping my bookcase apart trying t'find where I'd read that (doncha' just HATE when that "WildHair" flares up??)
From the liner notes of BeatlesAnthology3:
“. . A quick run-through of George Harrison’s “I Me Mine” (shot in early January 1969 during the Twickenham rehearsal period of the “Get Back” project) was set for inclusion in the “Let It Be” film, indicating that it also should feature on the accompanying album. But as the song had never been committed to tape with any serious endeavour, the Beatles convened again in Number Two Studio at EMI – some five months after completing the final album “Abbey Road” . . .”
“. . as the three Beatles (George, Paul & Ringo – John was on “Holiday”) recorded it during what turned out to be their last session together for 24 years . . .”
Although, in the hindsight of reading this, it doesn't particularly state whether or not Preston actually played on the subsequent recording session . . . |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | I've never seen any documentation connecting Billy with "I Me Mine". He was present during the later part of the "Get Back" sessions, and joined them for many of the "Abbey Road" sessions, but "I Me Mine" was the last 'new' song recorded by the Beatles (on Jan 03, 1970, after Abbey Road was completed!) and everything I've read says only Paul, George, Ringo, George Martin and a couple engineers were present.
I always loved his work on Let It Be, Get Back and Don't Let Me Down. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 171
Location: Indiana | RE: the concert for George....I liked My Sweet Lord too but Isn't It A Pity really got to me....as it did the audience from the looks of the standing ovation afterwards. He sure put his soul into that song. He lived near here in Fort Wayne Indiana for a while. I always wanted to see him play. Thanks for posting this, Cliff! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
July 2005
Posts: 150
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada | I was equally saddened when I read the news while out of town. Billy wrote "You Are So Beautiful" which a lot of folks don't know or remember. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Justa 'notha attempt to keepa blackman down...
StickyFingers...GoatsHeadSoup...BlackNBlue...ExileOnMainStreet, ItsOnlyRockNRoll....
If that was the ONLY stuff he did, He'd still be a legend. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | at our wedding "you are so beautiful" was "our song". Sue refused to use "you can't always get what you want". funny thing is that the band butchered the song so bad that all we could do was laugh duing the entire thing. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | . . . . can't always get what you want . . .
but, if you try sometimes...
( I hope the evening didn't end at a vegetarian restaurant) |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | Jeff
not that time... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub |  |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 45
Location: Oakton, VA | Billy Preston @ 10 |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | VeryCoool . . . |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | That video clip is in-freakin'-credible! Billy showed such poise and all of his mannerisms were already in place. Just incredible...... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5331
Location: Cicero, NY | How rare is that? Reminds me of this Little Stevie Wonder 'Fingertips' clip. Don't know how old he was but he was way too young to be handling himself like this. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | And Michael J too...
Whodda guessed he'd grow-up to be a small white child.... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 286
Location: North Idaho | Been running Preston's performance of Layla with Clapton through my head all week. |
|
| |
R.I.P.