The Fifth Beatle

The class of 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees was released yesterday and there are some long overdue names on the list: Tina Turner and Carole King topping the list. More modern day acts like Jay-Z and Foo Fighters also are being inducted along with some influential fan favorites like Todd Rundgren and Kraftwerk.

I was thrilled to see the name Billy Preston on the list. Maybe you don't know him - but the name sounds familiar? Read on good friends...

Billy Preston was born in Houston in 1946, and grew up in Los Angeles. He was a child prodigy who accompanied the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson when he was just 10 years old. Little Richard hired Preston for a European tour in 1962, and during that tour he met the Beatles (who were Little Richard's opening act). He played organ on the iconic Sam Cooke album Night Beat and later, joined Ray Charles band.

But it was his relationship with The Beatles that would make him a star. According to an article in The Washington Post, he hooked up again with The Beatles in 1969, when the they were about to break up while recording the last album they released, Let It Be. George Harrison, a friend of Preston, had quit, walking out of the studio and going to a Ray Charles concert in London, where Preston was playing organ. Harrison brought Preston back to the studio, where his keen musicianship and gregarious personality temporarily calmed the tension.

Preston played organ and electric piano with the band throughout their recording of Get Back (and a limited role on Abbey Road). Preston also accompanied the band on electric piano for its rooftop concert, the group's final public appearance.

Preston was later signed to the Beatles' label, Apple Records, and made two albums produced by Harrison: That's the Way God Planned It and Encouraging Words.

Preston's own career flourished in the early 1970's. He worked in the studio with the Rolling Stones on their 1970's albums Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, and toured with them. He was also a studio musician on Sly and the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On and on Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. Additionally, Preston co-wrote the "You Are So Beautiful."

Everyone wanted to work with Billy!

He continued to work with many artists into the 1980's and 90's including Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many more.

Sadly in June of 2006, he died after having been in a coma since November. He had voluntarily entered a drug rehabilitation clinic and suffered pericarditis there, leading to respiratory failure that left him in a coma.

"When you're doing it you're just trying to do the best you can," Mr. Preston said in 2001. "You don't know if you're doing something important, and whether it will make history has yet to be seen. Just the fact of being able to do it, and striving to do the best you can, was the accomplishment."

Preston was one of the best at what he did - and it's finally time he was recognized on a larger scale. Congrats Billy!