William Everett "Billy" Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American musician whose work included R&B, rock, soul, funk and gospel. Preston became famous first as a session musician with artists such as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and the Beatles, and was later successful as a solo artist with hit pop singles including "Outa-Space", its sequel, "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from Nothing", and a string of albums and guest appearances with Eric Clapton, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others.
Alongside Tony Sheridan, Billy Preston was the only other musician to be credited on a Beatles recording: the artists on the number-one hit "Get Back" are given as "The Beatles with Billy Preston". Stephen Stills asked Preston if he could use Preston's phrase "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with" and created the hit song.
Early life[edit | edit source]
Career[edit | edit source]
Death[edit | edit source]
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Discography[edit | edit source]
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Artists
- 1946 births
- 2006 deaths
- Male singers
- Musicians from Texas
- Capitol Records artists
- R&B Artists
- Rock artists
- Soul artists
- Funk artists
- Gospel artists
- LGBT musicians
- Multi-instrumentalists
- Singer-songwriters
- Pop artists
- Apple Records artists
- Motown Records artists
- Vee-Jay Records artists
- A&M Records artists