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 a 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 AM that put Preston on the permanent musical map. 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. ~ Bill Dahl, Rovi



 
Videos
Close
Billy Preston - My Sweet Lord (Live)
Billy Preston - Nothing From Nothing (1974) • TopPop
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live) [Official Video]
Billy Preston - Will It Go Round in Circles
Billy Preston! Living EVERYDAY with Guilt DESTROYED HIM - OLD HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS
Billy Preston - Nothing From Nothing Cover and Tutorial
Billy Preston & Ray Charles - Double O Soul LIVE HD 720p
Download SoundHound
The only App that can give you results through singing and humming search!
You can sing any song from this artist to help SoundHound users find it!