http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3692847a1860,00.htmlFifth Beatle' Billy Preston dead at 59
07 June 2006
LOS ANGELES: Keyboardist Billy Preston, a so-called "fifth Beatle" who also played with the Rolling Stones and enjoyed solo success in his own right, died in Arizona on Tuesday after a long illness.
Preston, 59, had been in a coma at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea in Scottsdale, Arizona, since last November after suffering kidney failure and related illnesses, the legacy of a long-time battle with drugs that landed him in prison in the late 1990s.
His sister, Lettie Preston, told Reuters his condition worsened over the weekend. An autopsy will be performed, and his funeral will take place in Los Angeles, she said.
A young keyboards prodigy, the Houston, Texas, native spent most of his life in the entertainment business. While still a teenager, he played with the likes of Mahalia Jackson, Little Richard and Ray Charles. With his large Afro hairstyle, ever-present gap-toothed smile and funky clothing style, he was a popular on-stage presence.
He entered the Beatles' orbit in 1969, as the band was on the verge of breaking up, and helped to soothe some of the tension. He performed on both sides of the Get Back/Don't Let Me Down single, which was credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston" the first time the band had shared the spotlight with a sideman. He also accompanied them during their last concert that year, the famous rooftop gig in London.
In the early 1970s, he topped the charts as a solo act with the Grammy-winning instrumental Outa Space, Will It Go Round in Circles and Nothing From Nothing. He also wrote Joe Cocker's 1974 hit You Are So Beautiful.
At the same time, he was becoming a fixture with the Rolling Stones, recording such tracks as Can't You Hear Me Knocking and Heartbreaker, and playing on several tours.
"He's just such a great player, singer and songwriter and has spiced up so many recordings with his keyboard prowess," said current Rolling Stones tour keyboardist Chuck Leavell. "He's one of my true heroes."
Preston's private life was darker. In 1997, a California judge sentenced him to three years in prison for violating the terms of his probation for a cocaine possession conviction handed out earlier that year.
Born William Everett Preston on September 9, 1946, he moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was 2. He appeared in the 1958 film "St. Louis Blues," which starred Nat King Cole as bluesman W.C. Handy. Preston played Handy as a child. Gospel legend Mahalia Jackson was also in the film, and he would go on to play organ on some of her best-known recordings, including "In the Upper Room."
WITH THE BEATLES
In 1962, Little Richard hired Preston to join his backing band for a European tour. He met the Beatles during their residency at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, and also Sam Cooke, who signed him to his SAR label. But Cooke was killed two years later, and Preston signed with Vee Jay records, one-time American home of the Beatles, through which he released an instrumental gospel record.
After a stint playing in the house band for the TV show Shindig, he joined Ray Charles' band. Beatles guitarist George Harrison renewed their friendship, and brought him into the tense Apple Studios in January 1969 where the Fab Four were barely speaking to each other while working on the Let It Be film and recording projects.
His organ handiwork can also be heard on such Beatle songs as Let It Be, I Want You (She's So Heavy) and Something.
Harrison signed him to Apple Records and co-produced Preston's two albums for the label, That's the Way God Planned It and Encouraging Words.
Preston also contributed to many Beatle solo albums, including Harrison's All Things Must Pass, John Lennon's Sometime in New York City and Ringo Starr's Sentimental Journey. He won a Grammy as a performer on the Harrison-orchestrated 1973 album of the year The Concert for Bangladesh.
His credits with the Rolling Stones included the albums Sticky Fingers and Black and Blue. He was a favourite of Mick Jagger, who danced seductively with Preston in the video clip for Hey Negrita. Not only did he tour with the Stones, but he also opened for them.
In his later years, he toured with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, as well as Motown session musicians the Funk Brothers. He also was featured on Ray Charles' last album Genius Loves Company, as well as the latest albums by Neil Diamond and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
