Billy Preston
Biography
It's advantageous to get an early start on your chosen career, but Billy Preston took the concept to extremes. By age ten he was playing keyboards with gospel diva Mahalia Jackson, and two years later, in 1958, he was featured in Hollywood's film bio of W.C. Handy, St. Louis Blues, as young Handy himself. Preston was a prodigy on organ and piano, recording during the early '60s for Vee-Jay and touring with Little Richard. He was a loose-limbed regular on the mid-'60s ABC TV series Shindig, proving his talent as both vocalist and pianist, and he built an enviable reputation as a session musician, even backing the Beatles on their Let It Be album. That impressive Beatles connection led to Preston's big break as a solo artist with his own Apple album, but it was his early-'70s soul smashes "Outa-Space" and the high-flying vocal "Will It Go Round in Circles" for A&M that put Preston on the permanent musical map. Sporting a humongous Afro and an omnipresent gap-toothed grin, Preston showed that his enduring gospel roots were never far removed from his joyous approach. He continued to perform and record throughout the '80s, '90s, and 2000s, until he fell into a coma caused by pericarditis late in 2005; sadly, he never regained consciousness and passed away on June 6, 2006. . It's advantageous to get an early start on your chosen career, but Billy Preston took the concept to extremes. By age ten he was playing keyboards with gospel diva Mahalia Jackson, and two years later, in 1958, he was featured in Hollywood's film bio of W.C. Handy, St. Louis Blues, as young Handy himself. Preston was a prodigy on organ and piano, recording during the early '60s for Vee-Jay and touring with Little Richard. He was a loose-limbed regular on the mid-'60s ABC TV series Shindig, proving his talent as both vocalist and pianist, and he built an enviable reputation as a session musician, even backing the Beatles on their Let It Be album. That impressive Beatles connection led to Preston's big break as a solo artist with his own Apple album, but it was his early-'70s soul smashes "Outa-Space" and the high-flying vocal "Will It Go Round in Circles" for A&M that put Preston on the permanent musical map. Sporting a humongous Afro and an omnipresent gap-toothed grin, Preston showed that his enduring gospel roots were never far removed from his joyous approach. He continued to perform and record throughout the '80s, '90s, and 2000s, until he fell into a coma caused by pericarditis late in 2005; sadly, he never regained consciousness and passed away on June 6, 2006.
Top Albums |
1. Ultimate Col..
| 2. If Only
| 3. 20th Century..
| 4. Billy Presto..
| 5. The Complete..
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6. The Most Exc..
| 7. Billy's Bag
| 8. 16 Yr. Old S..
| 9. The Collecti..
| 10. Music from M..
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11. Wildest Orga..
| 12. Billy Presto..
| 13. Soul Organ M..
| 14. King of the ..
| 15. American Leg..
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16. Encouraging ..
| 17. You and I
| 18. Billy Presto..
| 19. That's the W..
| 20. I Dig the '6..
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Top Songs |
| Name | Album | Time | Price | |
1. | Will It Go Round in Circles | 20th Century Masters - The .. | 4:28 | $1.29 | |
2. | Nothing from Nothing | 20th Century Masters - The .. | 2:37 | $1.29 | |
3. | With You I'm Born Again | Ultimate Collection: Billy .. | 3:40 | $1.29 | |
4. | Nothing from Nothing | Ultimate Collection: Billy .. | 2:37 | $1.29 | |
5. | Will It Go Round in Circles | Ultimate Collection: Billy .. | 4:28 | $1.29 | |
6. | My Sweet Lord (Live) | Concert for George (Origina.. | 5:02 | $1.29 | |
7. | Outa-Space (Single) | 20th Century Masters - The .. | 4:09 | $1.29 | |
8. | That's the Way God Planned It (L.. | Concert for Bangladesh | 4:20 | $1.29 | |
9. | Isn't It a Pity (Live) | Concert for George (Origina.. | 6:58 | $1.29 | |
10. | With You I'm Born Again (From Fa.. | 20th Century Masters - The .. | 3:40 | $1.29 | |
11. | With You I'm Born Again | Gold - '80s Soul | 3:39 | $1.29 | |
12. | Outta-Space (Single) | Ultimate Collection: Billy .. | 4:09 | $1.29 | |
13. | If I Had a Hammer | Rock & Soul | 2:52 | $0.99 | |
14. | James Brown Medley (Live) (Digitally.. | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 4:43 | $1.29 | |
15. | Ike's Theme (Live) (Digitally Re.. | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 2:34 | $1.29 | |
16. | This Little Light of Mine (Live) (Di.. | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 2:58 | $1.29 | |
17. | Summertime (Live) (Digitally Remaste.. | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 4:14 | $1.29 | |
18. | Wade In the Water (Live) (Digitally .. | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 2:52 | $1.29 | |
19. | No Man Is an Island (Live) (Digitall.. | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 3:54 | $1.29 | |
20. | Billy's Groove (Live) (Digitally.. | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 2:39 | $1.29 | |
21. | Hoochie Koochie Man (Live) (Digitall.. | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 4:31 | $1.29 | |
22. | Sunny (Live) (Digitally Remastered 0.. | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 2:53 | $1.29 | |
23. | Free Funk (2001 Digital Remaster) | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 2:43 | $1.29 | |
24. | I Got You (I Feel Good) (Digitally R.. | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 2:32 | $1.29 | |
25. | Satisfaction | Wildest Organ In Town/Club .. | 2:44 | $1.29 | |
Top Music Videos |
1. Outa-Space (L...
| 2. Agent Double-...
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