by Kevin Burton
In the late 60s and 70s when DJs would spin “Get Back” by The Beatles, they didn’t say anything about Billy Preston, not that I ever heard anyway.
But Preston was working closely with the Beatles on the album “Let It Be.” He was a big part of what they were doing at the time. He almost joined the band.
John Lennon floated the idea.
“Many people have been called ‘the fifth Beatle’ but if anyone deserves the title, it’s Billy Preston,” wrote Fred Bronson in the Billboard Book of Number One Hits. “Rumors that the Beatles considered asking him to join the group were confirmed later in a book written by John.”
Get Back is credited to The Beatles with Billy Preston, making Preston one of only two musicians ever to share a label billing with the Fab Four. (The other was Tony Sheridan)
“I didn’t even know until the record was out that they had put my name on it,” Preston said. “It was something that I could have never asked for or no manager could negotiate, just something they felt for me.”
The photo accompanying the Nothing From Nothing story in the Billboard book shows Preston playing keyboard with a photo of the four Beatles inset.
“Billy never put his hands in the wrong place. Never,” was Ringo Starr’s high compliment.
You wonder, had he actually joined the band, could he have helped foster some harmony that could have kept the band together?
“After fraught initial writing and rehearsal sessions at Twickenham Studios, George Harrison invited Preston to join the re-convened band at Apple Studios in London,” reads an episode of Once Upon A Time, talking about the Let It Be sessions.”
“Inspired by his recent stay in the US, where he enjoyed the musical freedom of jamming with musicians in Los Angeles, Harrison hoped to bring some of that joy and camaraderie back into The Beatles – qualities that had been sadly lacking from recent sessions.”
“Preston’s easy-going vibe was contagious and quickly eased tensions within the band – allowing creativity to once again flow within the bolstered line-up.”
“Preston contributed Rhodes piano to the final versions of ‘Dig a Pony’, ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’, ‘One After 909’, ‘The Long and Winding Road’, ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ and ‘Get Back’, Hammond organ on ‘Dig It’ and ‘Let It Be’, according to Once Upon A Time.
“Get Back was a protest song against prevalent anti-immigrant white nationalism in England. Preston’s presence and revered performance added to the sentiment behind the track, helping it become a classic in The Beatles canon,” according to Once Upon A Time.
Fifty years ago this week Preston hit number one with “Nothing From Nothing.” It was his second solo chart-topper. “Will It Go Round In Circles” was number one in July of 1973.
You will also remember the infectious instrumental song “Outa Space” which peaked at number two in 1971.
Preston began writing Nothing From Nothing in the dressing room of an Atlanta nightclub where he was playing, according to SongFacts. Co-writer Bruce Fisher wrote the second verse. “The saloon piano gave it character,” Preston said, “and I had a feeling it would be a hit because it was a sing-a-long kind of thing.”
The B-side of the 45 was “You Are So Beautiful,” a song Joe Cocker took to number five later in 1974.
“Preston’s career as a session musician started long before, and continued long after, the Beatles split,” reads a remembrance of Preston in Newsweek after his death in 2006. “He played with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr as they all launched solo careers. He played with Bob Dylan, Sly and the Family Stone, Ray Charles, Little Richard and Aretha Franklin. He played for those anti-Beatles, the Rolling Stones.”
Preston started off at the age of 10 playing keyboards for gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, according to SongFacts.
“His is the sort of music that requires you to close your eyes and listen with your entire body,” Newsweek wrote.
“Preston performed Nothing From Nothing on the very first episode of Saturday Night Live,” SongFacts wrote. “He and Janis Ian were the musical guests on the Oct. 11, 1975 debut.
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