He was singing at a Cincinnati nightclub, Guys and Dolls, when Mr. Royal formed a rock band, the Corvettes, in high school and was later hired to perform at the Bamboo Ranch in Savannah, Ga., an enormous dance hall that booked top country and soul acts. “When he made it so big, all us Southern boys thought maybe we had a shot, too,” he said in an interview posted on his website.Īt 14, he became a regular on the radio program “Georgia Jubilee,” where other performers included Jerry Reed, Ray Stevens and Mr. The success of Elvis Presley galvanized him. He began singing in grade school, learned to play steel guitar and was soon performing with his uncle’s country-and-western band on local radio. He followed up with “ I’ll Pin a Note to Your Pillow,” a cover version of the Aaron Neville hit “ Tell It Like It Is” and others.īilly Joe Royal was born on April 3, 1942, in Valdosta, Ga., and grew up in Marietta, near Atlanta. As a gesture of respect, D.J.s stopped playing the song. Royal turned out a steady stream of country hits, beginning with “ Burned Like a Rocket,” which reached the country Top 10 in 1985 and was climbing when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. In the 1980s, after signing with Atlantic Records in Nashville, Mr. South, “ Hush” and “ I Knew You When,” and ended the decade in the Top 20 with “ Cherry Hill Park” (1969). He did return to play on Abbey Road but only played the organ on “Something” and “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).He hit the charts with two other songs by Mr. Their single “Get Back” was credited to “The Beatles with Billy Preston,” making Preston one of only two musicians who share credit with The Beatles. We all played better, and it was a great session.” “Everybody was happier to have somebody else playing, and it made what we were doing more enjoyable. “Billy didn’t know all the politics and the games that had been going on, so in his innocence, he got stuck in and gave an extra little kick to the band,” he added.
Having this fifth person was just enough to cut the ice that we’d created among ourselves. He got on the electric piano, and straight away there was 100 percent improvement in the vibe in the room. “Suddenly, everybody’s on their best behavior. “It’s interesting to see how nicely people behave when you bring a guest in because they don’t want everybody to know they’re so bitchy,” Harrison shared. In Anthology, Harrison said the experiment worked as the band behaved best with Preston in the room. George Harrison invited Preston to play with The Beatles during their “Get Back” sessions to cool the room down. In the late 1960s, tensions were rising between The Beatles, eventually leading to their breakup. Billy Preston joined The Beatles for the ‘Get Back’ sessionsīilly Preston befriended The Beatles in the 1960s. All of this exposure in the 1960s made Preston one of the most sought keyboard players in music. He then joined Ray Charles’ band in 1967. In 1962, he played on Sam Cooke’s Night Beat album and released his debut album, 16 Yr. While performing in Hamburg, Preston met The Beatles, who had been invited to be Little Richard’s opening act. In 1962, Preston joined Little Richard’s band as an organist.
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At 11, he appeared on an episode of Nat King Cole’s NBC TV show and sang a Fats Domino song with Cole. By the age of 10, he was playing the organ for gospel singers like Mahalia Jackson, despite being entirely self-taught. Some people are naturally gifted at playing instruments, and Preston realized his gift at a young age.
Billy Preston was a keyboard prodigy as a child Billy Preston | Ian Showell/Keystone/Getty Images Outside of The Beatles, Preston had an accomplished career, working with many of the greatest artists ever. Billy Preston is amongst an exclusive club of a few musicians who some refer to as the “fifth Beatle.” Billy Preston was a keyboard player who impacted The Beatles more than some may realize.
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