Billy Preston

Description

William Everett Preston (September 2 1946 – June 6 2006) was an American soul musician from Houston, Texas, raised mostly in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his successful, Grammy-winning career as a solo artist, Preston collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Little Richard, Ray Charles, George Harrison, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, King Curtis, Sammy Davis Jr., Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin, the Jackson 5, Quincy Jones, Richie Sambora, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. He played the electric piano on the Get Back sessions in 1969 and is one of several people sometimes credited as the "Fifth Beatle". He is one of two non-Beatles to receive label performance credit on any Beatles record (the other being Tony Sheridan). <p>Preston began playing piano while sitting on his mother's lap at age three, and he was considered something of a prodigy on piano and organ. By the age of ten he was performing in...