Vegas Buzz

I have not forgotten the wonderful sounds of Billy Preston playing the organ and singing. When he recorded "Will It Go Around In Circles", I must of called the radio stations 50 times a day to request they play it. After a while, I did not need to call. It hit #1 on the charts. Also, once when he was in Chicago, I had the ultimate pleasure of being able to go backstage to meet him. I was so awestruck, I could hardly speak. He immediately made me feel so comfortable and said I was the important person in the room. I probably have every record he ever made.He was a wonderful soul and will be missed terribly. I,also, agree that we should have heard and seen more of him in the past few years. Thanks for the opportunity to say nice things about Billy.

I saw Billy play almost 40 yrs. ago. Of course I first heard of him some years before that. My boyhood idols were Little Richard and Ray Charles. He played with both of them. The Stones and the Beatles were both great,but my dream gigs would have been with Brother Ray and Little Richard.
I left after hearing Billy that day,with a feeling in my heart that stayed with me for a longtime.He reinforced my love of music.
He's got the ultimate gig again,playing organ with Ray Charles on piano,Little milton on guitar,King Curtis on sax,well,you get the drift. Rock on Billy,and thanks for coming by.
PJ Celi

Although I've known of Billy for many years, and his affiliation with the Beatles, etc., I never thought much about him until I attended a Clapton concert a couple of years ago. I went to see Clapton, but ended up focusing most of my attention on "this awesome organ player", not knowing who it was until the introductions at the end of the show. The encore for the concert was Clapton playing rhythm guitar for Billy's awesome performance of "Will it Go Round in Circles", complete with dancing, etc. He brought the house down! Thanks, Billy!

Although I am only 18 years old, I do know about the amazing Billy Preston. First, let me thank Jay Michaels on such a great article. When I was born my parents decided to name me after George Harrison, and I am very proud to be named after such a great man. So knowing about The Beatles, I of course have known about Billy Preston, as have many of my friends. We all love Mr. Preston's music, especially songs such as, "Outta Space", "Will It Go Round In Circles", "That's The Way God Planned It," and many more. Whenever I am feeling down or need something positive and uplifting, I always listen to "That's The Way God Planned It." So, thank you Mr. Michaels for a job well done on this article, hopefully people's eyes will open and see what a great gift Billy Preston was to the music industry. Lastly, thank you to Billy Preston for giving us great music that I know has touched many people's lives throughout the entire world.

Thanks for this column, as it encompasses all of our wonderful musical contributors and sidemen who are, like Billy was, still giving their all to people.

Many blessings to Joyce Moore for all she did for Billy in the last years of his life. She was a true friend to a good man with a big heart, and I'm grateful that he had her.

Jay, I enjoyed your article. I am a radio DJ and have been for 20 years. I was 4 when Billy played on Beatle records, but because I'm a huge Beatles fan since I was a young boy, I knew about Billy Preston, and enjoyed his top 40 records from the early 70's. I understand your disgust of how the industry can be as a selling standpoint, I'm now involved in Top 40 again and can see it. I jocked "Oldies several times during my carreer, last year being the most recent, I miss it! Most of the Oldies formats are going away because of the sales reps claiming it's not a sellable format anymore, then why do we hear 60's & 70's tunes popping up in movies and tv commercials still? Young people do hear it in this fashion but no one is bothering to tell them, "Oh that's an actual song from 1973 it was a big hit by Billy Preston, he by the way played keys on the Beatles last 3 albums." Those type of things are what educates the young people. I had a childhood friend visit me from NJ this past Sunday I fired up my D6 Clavinet for him and played to Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" after we quit jamming I thought to myself I should have thrown on "Outa Space" because it is the coolest jam on the Clavinet! Better than Stevie's, and now I hear Billy died the other day. Just the fact that I thought of him made my heart smile. Thanks Billy for your contribution to Rock, Pop, and Soul!What a JAM SESSION you must be having!!!!

Dave "Bartley" Bussard

Nothing, indeed. music is the oldest form of communcation we've got and no one, seemingly, is saying anything to one another any longer. it is a crime that Billy Preston was just one example of billions being deprived of proper medical care and it's just a plain old crying shame that he had been relegated to the "oldies" section within the feeble minds and retail outlets of this currently un-welcoming country. things haven't always been this cold, have they?

i'm twenty-four years old and i'm deeply saddened by the direction in which we're all headed together. and that seems to be the root of it; everyone, somewhere along the way, forgot that we're in this mess together. people like Billy Preston have been trying to remind us all along, but with diminishing returns. He was a soulful disciple of Ray Charles and a contemporary of the Beatles, as all of the radio stations have suddenly begun reminding us, but now he's gone and it's just another reminder of how, if we want things to get better, we can't just stand idly by while the good all die.

i'd like to thank my good friend Paul for the following William Blake quote that only seems to become more relevant with every passing day.

"When nations grow old, the Arts grow cold,
And Commerce settles on every tree;
And the poor and the old can live upon gold,
For all are born poor, aged sixty-three."

Mr. Preston only made it to fifty-nine. we should all celebrate his memory and mourn for a world that has lost yet another voice of truth and soul.

And by the way...
Will It Go 'Round in Circles
Nothing From Nothing
You Are So Beautiful
That's The Way God Planned It
-all brilliant tunes.

someone should mention, though, how unfortunate it is that no one has seen fit to re-issue Billy Preston's 2nd album for Apple Records, Encouraging Words, produced by George Harrison.

besides containing some of Billy's finest original tunes (including "Little Girl" later covered by Donny Hathaway amongst others), it's also got a stirring rendition of "My Sweet Lord" that could bring even the most nihilistic Beatle fan to his knees. It's also got a version of "I've Got A Feeling" that oughtta give Sir Paul McCartney a much-needed kick up the Khyber if he still listens to any soul music whatsoever.

that's all.
thanks, Billy- for all the inspiration on every conceivable level.

Thanks so much for your article. I met him years ago. He encouraged me to keep on keeping on. And that's what I'm doing. When the music is in you like that you just can't help it. What most people don't understand is music is an unique language of God. It never ages. We, as musicians, are like roses carrying different and distinctive aromas. Even though we pass away, the scent remains. Unfortunately, the appreciation is intense when the rose is no longer visible.

I'm truly sad about Bill's death.
I began playing the organ fifteen years ago after I heard "Music is my life".Since then I did collect all of his records, even some rare ones like the soundtrack theme from "Slaughter" on AM Records, and the theme from "The Split"composed By Quincy Jones on MGM.
There's something magic about his music,like in Donny Hathaway's music or Otis redding's, there's something superior. Did they really belong to this world? The music Billy played was pure soul,something you could'nt just put down in notes. The way he played organ and piano( not to mention his singin') was incredible.After many years of playing the Hammond, I still can't get 'nough close to his crispy, warm sound.Get a copy of the soundtrack "They call me mr. Tibbs" by Quincy Jones and listen to the tune "Blues for mr. Tibbs". The work is doin' at the organ is just amazing, real genius.The music business should have given him more exposition.Now give him what he deserves.Thank you Billy,God bless you.

HELLO, JUST A NOTE TO ALL THAT HAVE ADDED COMMENTS TO MY ARTICLE HERE I JUST WANT TO PERSONALLY SAY "THANKS"

I DO NOT ALWAYS GET A CHANCE TO RESPOND TO MANY OF THE COMMENTS FROM MY WRITINGS OR BROADCAST PROGRAMS HOWEVER, I NEVER WANT TO FORGET TO GIVE A HEARTFELT THANK YOU FOR THOSE WHO TAKE THE TIME TO NOT JUST READ OR LISTEN BUT WHO RESPOND WITH YOUR THOUGHTS AS WELL.

THANKS AGAIN!

SINCERELY,

JAY MICHAELS

Related article: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-preston7jun07,1,6437915.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california From LA Times

Ed.

I had the pleasure of seeing Billy Preston live MANY times here in L.A. When I was in High School we would go see him many times on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert which taped in Hollywood. Amazingly, Billy would come out even before taping and put on a show, singing songs, answering questions, etc. I then saw him with George Harrison in 1975 and,though George was nursing a bad sore throat, Billy picked up the slack and tore the Forum down! He even played at my home town's(El Sereno section of East L.A) 4th of July Carnival waay back when! His albums are gems, his music a gift, his unselfishness incomparable. He has touched our hearts, given us insight, and blessed us with his spirit. And That's the way God planned it!

Surely, there is a place in the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame for Billy Preston! His musical resume speaks volumes, as does Joe Cocker and Leon Russell, yet the HOF establishment continues to snub them. Rest In Peace Billy and thanks for everything.

Why is it that only after his passing that we truly appreciate Mr Billy Preson's genius. His name belongs with the truly great song writers of this world such as Jimmy Webb, Joni Mitchell, Lennon & McCartney.

RIP Billy, thanks for the wonderful memories.

Thank you for a wonderful article...

I said a prayer for Mr. Preston and his family as soon as I heard the news.

My first memory is of him playing a gospel song on the organ. He was such a versatile musician who loved what he was doing. I know this because even at a young age, I could feel the passion in the music.

He is a gift from heaven that has left his legacy of music for us to continue to share with generations to come. Hopefully we will see television specials and tributes honoring his life!

Network Stations, Public Broadcasting Stations (I am a contributor(listen to me)), Cable television...Get Busy, Please

"That's The Way God Planned It"

I first saw Billy Preston play in the early 1960's when my dad herded us all into the station wagon and drove us from Compton to a church in South Central LA. There, we witnessed a young Billy Preston proceed to tear into that Hammond B3 organ and alternately make it scream, moan, sigh, and soar like a butterfly! I was hooked, and anytime he played in LA (the Whisky, Troubadour, Mavericks Flat) - I would be right there. If you haven't heard them, Billy put out some classic albums (Everybody Loves Some Kind Of Music, Music is My Life). I attended the wake/musical tribute to Billy last nite at Faithful Central Church, and afterward bumped into George Johnson of the Brothers Johnson. I remarked to him how I remember first seeing George and Louis in 1971, as they played guitar and bass respectively in Billy's band at the time. We laughed about the big afro's, and ended our conversation about how Billy was a true musical genius and really helped alot of young musician's get started in the business. We agreed that he never received enough recognition for his songwriting abilities. I urge everyone to pick up some of his earliest recordings (one of my my precious albums is an original copy of Organ Transplant - many of the songs written and arranged by Sly Stone). Billy had his problems, but who doesn't. Let's keep Billy alive by playing his music- which I'm doing at work rite now.......rest in peace brother Billy!

Jay, I certainly would agree with that the music industry likes to forget about acts from yester year.

I'm in the 18-29 year old group and am a huge music fan. Like most people, I've heard Billy Preston's music for many years but never paid much attention to how important he was for the music industry.

I had the opportunity to attend Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004. This marked my introduction to Mr. Preston. Once I saw live how he manipulated the organ and made it dance beneath his magic fingers, I was hooked.

Billy, rest in peace and thank you for the music

Yo Billy YOU WERE WRONG! Forty years ago you wrote "Nothing from Nothing leaves Nothing". I must say Billy you were wrong: you came from Nothing, and now you leave us..and you take Nothing...but you leave us so much - your mere presence on earth, your pure soul music and artistry, your contagious smile...thats something!

Thanks for the opportunity to pay tribute to a truly talented musician. There are not too many in the history of music that I can say "that guy is a true talent", but Billy was one!

Yo Billy rewrite those lyrics and get back to us; we will be waiting. I love you....I will miss you...thank you ..thank you ...thank you
I will always remember you.
-Anand

The first time I saw Billy Preston , it was 1974 and I was four years old and went to LAX with my father to pick Billy up. My father was managing a group named Andrae' Crouch and the Disciples. Andrae' had asked my dad to do him a favor and pick Billy up at the airport. What I remember most was the joy in his face and the warm feeling he gave us as kids. Oh, and the length of his hair. Even in an era were big Afro's were common, Billy's stood out. Through the years growing up around the gospel music indusrtry and the legendary Andrae' Crouch I was fortunate to see Billy from time to time. If you ever saw him play, you left with no doubt that he was the greatest organ player alive! Thanks for the music Billy! We love you and will miss you dearly. Trent DeHaan.