Preston is a placename, surname and given name that may refer to:

Look up Preston in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Places[link]

England[link]

• Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement
  • The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement
  • County Borough of Preston, a local government district containing the settlement from 1835 to 1974
  • Preston (UK Parliament constituency)
  • Preston railway station in Preston, Lancashire
  • The PR postcode area, also known as the Preston postcode area
  • Preston Urban Area, the conurbation with Preston at its core
• Preston, Cotswold, Gloucestershire (near Cirencester)
• Preston, Devon (in Paignton)
• Preston, Teignbridge, Devon
• Preston, Dorset
• Preston, East Riding of Yorkshire, near Kingston upon Hull
• Preston, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (near Ledbury)
• Preston, Hertfordshire
• Preston, London, near Wembley
  • Preston (ward)
• Preston, Northumberland
• Preston, Rutland
• Preston, Somerset
• Preston, Tyne and Wear
• Preston, Aldbourne and Ramsbury, Wiltshire
• Preston, Lyneham, Wiltshire
• Preston Bagot, Warwickshire
• Preston Bissett, Buckinghamshire
• Preston Brook, Cheshire
• Preston Capes, Northamptonshire
• Preston Crowmarsh, Oxfordshire
• Preston Deanery, Northamptonshire
• Preston Gubbals, Shropshire
• Preston-le-Skern, County Durham
• Preston-next-Faversham, Kent
• Preston-next-Wingham, Kent
• Preston-on-Stour, Warwickshire
• Preston-on-Tees, Eaglescliffe, Teesside
• Preston on the Hill, Cheshire
• Preston on Wye, Herefordshire
• Preston Plucknett, Somerset
• Preston St Mary, Suffolk
• Preston-under-Scar, North Yorkshire
• Preston upon the Weald Moors, Shropshire
• Preston Village, Brighton, Sussex
• Preston Wynne, Herefordshire
• Great Preston, West Yorkshire
• Long Preston, North Yorkshire

Australia[link]

• Preston, Victoria
  • City of Preston (Victoria)
  • Electoral district of Preston
• Preston, Tasmania
• Preston, Queensland

Canada[link]

• Preston, Nova Scotia
  • East Preston, Nova Scotia
  • North Preston, Nova Scotia
  • Preston (electoral district)
• Preston, Ontario

Scotland[link]

• Preston, Scottish Borders, near Duns
• Preston, East Lothian, near Prestonpans
• Prestonkirk, near East Linton, East Lothian
• Preston Mill, a watermill near East Linton, East Lothian

United States[link]

• Preston, Connecticut
• Preston, Georgia
• Preston, Idaho
• Preston, Indiana
• Preston, Iowa
• Preston, Kansas
• Preston, Kentucky
• Preston, Maryland
• Preston, Minnesota
• Preston, Mississippi
• Preston, Missouri
• Preston, Nebraska
• Preston, Nevada
• Preston, New York
• Preston, North Carolina
• Preston, Oklahoma
• Preston, Texas
• Preston, Washington
• Preston County, West Virginia
• Preston, Adams County, Wisconsin
• Preston, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin
• Preston Road, important thoroughfare to the history and growth of Dallas, Texas, built over a historically important cattle trail

People[link]

• Preston, or Samuel Preston (singer) (born 1982), British singer
• List of people with given name Preston
• List of people with surname Preston

Fictional characters[link]

• Becky Preston, from the Shiloh movies
• Bill S. Preston Esq., one half of Bill and Ted, played by Alex Winter
• Dara Lynn Preston, from the Shiloh movies
• Marty Preston, from the Shiloh movies
• Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
• Dr. Preston Burke, Grey's Anatomy
• Preston the robot dog in the Wallace and Gromit film A Close Shave
• Preston of the Spaceways, a fictional character from the Honorverse
• Preston (played by Colin Hanks), Carl Denham's assistant in King Kong (2005 film)
• Cleric John Preston (played by Christian Bale), Equilibrium (film)
• Preston Winthrop from MySims Agents
• John James Preston, the full name of Mr. Big (Sex and the City), Carrie Bradshaw's love interest in the Sex and the City television series and ensuing films.

Other[link]

• Preston Baronets, baronetcies created for persons with the surname Preston
• Preston Car Company, a Canadian railway equipment builder
• Preston College, a further education college in England
• Preston (HM Prison), a prison in England
• Preston High School (disambiguation), several schools
• Preston (METRORail station), Houston METRORail
• Preston (speedway), a British speedway team
• Preston Street, for streets by this name
• Preston University, controversial unaccredited institution
• Preston University Pakistan, a campus affiliated with Preston University
• HMS Preston, multiple ships
• USS Preston, multiple ships
• WT Preston, a stern wheel snagboat operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers
• 3792 Preston, an asteroid

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2010)

Billy Preston
Billy Preston visiting the White House in 1974
Background information
Birth name	William Everett Preston
Born	(1946-09-02)September 2, 1946 Houston, Texas, United States
Died	June 6, 2006(2006-06-06) (aged 59) Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Genres	Rhythm and blues, rock, soul, funk, gospel
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, bandleader, actor
Instruments	Keyboards, organ, piano, electric piano, vocals, harpsichord, accordion, drums
Years active	1956–2005
Labels	Derby, Vee-Jay, Apple Records, Capitol, Buddah, A&M, Motown
Associated acts	Sam Cooke, The Beatles, Sly & the Family Stone, Mahalia Jackson, King Curtis, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton
Website	Billy Preston.net
Notable instruments
Hammond B3 organ Baldwin Piano Fender Rhodes Electric Piano

William Everett "Billy" Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was a musician whose work included R&B, rock, soul, funk and gospel. Preston became famous, first as a session musician with such artists as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and was later successful as a solo artist with such hit pop singles as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from Nothing", and a string of albums.

Alongside Tony Sheridan, Billy Preston was the only other musician to be credited on a Beatles recording after he was credited on the group's number-one hit, "Get Back", with the record title listed as The Beatles with Billy Preston. Steven Stills asked Preston if he could use Preston's phrase "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with" in a song and created the legendary eponymous hit.

Early life and career[link]

William Everett Preston was born on September 2, 1946 in Houston, Texas. At the age of three, the family moved to Los Angeles where Preston began playing piano while sitting on his mother Robbie's lap. Noted as a child prodigy, by the age of ten, Preston was playing organ onstage backing several gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson, James Cleveland and Andrae Crouch. At twelve, he appeared in the W.C. Handy biopic starring Nat King Cole entitled, St. Louis Blues, playing W.C. Handy at a younger age. A year prior, Preston appeared on Cole's national TV show singing the Fats Domino hit, "Blueberry Hill".

In 1962, Preston joined Little Richard's band as an organist and it was while performing in Hamburg that Preston met The Beatles. In 1963, he played the organ on Sam Cooke's Night Beat album and released his first gospel album, 16 Years Soul, that same year. In 1965, he released his secular debut album, The Most Exciting Organ Ever, and that same year played organ and performed on the rock and roll show, Shindig!. In 1967, he joined Ray Charles' band. Following his exposure with Charles, several musicians began asking Preston to come to sessions, most notably The Beatles, who asked him to contribute to two of their albums, Abbey Road and Let It Be.

Relationship with The Beatles[link]

Preston is one of several people sometimes referred to by outsiders as a "Fifth Beatle." At one point during the Get Back sessions, John Lennon even proposed the idea of having him as the "Fifth Beatle" (to which Paul countered that it was bad enough with four).^[1] Preston first met The Beatles in 1962 while part of Little Richard's touring band, when their manager Brian Epstein organized a Liverpool show, at which The Beatles opened. The Washington Post explained their subsequent meeting:

Preston played with The Beatles for several of the Get Back sessions, some of the material from which would later be culled to make the film Let it Be and its companion album, during which he joined the band for its rooftop concert, its final public appearance.^[2] "Get Back", one of the album's singles, was credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston," the only time such a joint credit had been given on an official Beatles-sanctioned release (as distinct from an unsanctioned reissue of some Hamburg-era recordings on which they were the backing group for Tony Sheridan). The credit was bestowed by The Beatles to reflect the extent of Preston's presence on the track; his electric piano is prominent throughout and he plays an extended solo. Preston also worked (in a more limited role) on the Abbey Road album, contributing to the tracks "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Something."

In 1978, he appeared as Sgt. Pepper in Robert Stigwood's film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was very loosely based on The Beatles' album of the same name.

Post-Beatles solo career[link]

Preston singing at the piano in 1971

Signed to The Beatles' Apple Records label, in 1969, Preston released the album That's the Way God Planned It and a single of the same name (produced by George Harrison). His relationship with Harrison continued after the breakup of The Beatles; he was the first artist to record "My Sweet Lord", in his album Encouraging Words (Harrison's own version of the single hit number one in the US and the UK and was the first number one by a former Beatle after they disbanded) and he was on several of Harrison's 1970s solo albums. Preston also made notable contributions to The Concert for Bangladesh, the Harrison-organized charity concert, toured with Harrison on his 1974 tour of North America and, after Harrison's death, The Concert for George. Preston also worked on solo records by two other ex-Beatles, John Lennon and Ringo Starr. After the Encouraging Words album, Preston left Apple and signed with Herb Alpert's A&M Records.

His solo career also peaked at this time, beginning with 1972's "Outa-Space", an instrumental track that further popularized the sound of the clavinet in funk music. The song reached #2 on the US Hot 100, #1 on the R&B chart, and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in June 1972.^[3]

Over the next two years, he followed up with the #1 hits "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing From Nothing", and the #4 hit "Space Race". All three releases each sold in excess of one million copies.^[3] American Bandstand host and executive producer Dick Clark enjoyed "Space Race" so much that he used the instrumental for the mid-show break for virtually the remainder of its run.^{[citation needed]}

Preston supporting The Rolling Stones on their Tour of the Americas, July 23, 1975

After working with The Beatles, Preston played keyboards for The Rolling Stones, alongside pianists Nicky Hopkins and Ian Stewart. Preston appears on the Stones' albums Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, Goats Head Soup, It's Only Rock'n Roll and Black and Blue. He toured as a support act on their 1973 European Tour and recorded his live album Live European Tour 1973 in Munich with Mick Taylor on guitar that same year. In 1974 he composed one of Joe Cocker's biggest hits, "You Are So Beautiful". On October 11, 1975, he was the first musical guest on Saturday Night Live's series premiere episode (along with Janis Ian). Also in that year, and in 1976, he again accompanied the Stones on vocals and keyboards. This time he played two of his own songs, backed by the Stones, in the middle of every concert. Preston's 1973 Do You Love Me was the basis for the Stones' Melody on their 1976 Black and Blue album. The Stones and Preston parted company in 1977, mainly due to an argument over money. He continued to play on solo records by Stones members and made appearances again on the Stones' 1981 Tattoo You and 1997 Bridges to Babylon albums.

Preston's solo career began a decline in 1976. After years with A&M Records, Preston switched labels, moving to Motown Records where, in 1980, Preston had a top ten hit duet with Syreeta Wright with the ballad "With You I'm Born Again" that reached number four on the charts in the US. When Preston failed to match its success, the musician left the label in 1984 and promptly settled on session work from then on.

Legal troubles[link]

In 1991, he was arrested and convicted for insurance fraud after setting fire to his own house in Los Angeles,^[4] and he was treated for alcohol and cocaine addictions. He also was arrested in 1991 for sexually assaulting a 16 year-old Mexican boy, after picking him up at a gathering point for day laborers.^[5] After submitting to a drug test, he tested positive for cocaine. That year, he entered no-contest pleas to the cocaine and assault charges. He was sentenced to nine months at a drug rehabilitation center and three months of house arrest.

Preston overcame his problems in the early 1990s, toured with Eric Clapton, recorded with Gary Walker, one of the vocalists in his Los Angeles based band, and worked with a wide range of other artists. He also toured with Ringo Starr and appeared on the 1990 live album Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. He was also invited to become a member of The Band in 1991, after the death of their piano player, Stan Szelest. He completed a tour, but his above-mentioned legal problems put an end to the collaboration before they had a chance to record together in the studio.

Later work[link]

In 1997-1998, Billy Preston played organ during the choir numbers on the UPN comedy show Good News.

While touring and fighting his own health problems, Preston received the news that on 29 November 2001, his old friend George Harrison had died after a long battle with throat cancer. Preston, among many of Harrison's longtime friends, performed in the 2002 Concert for George in London, England, to play a tribute song. Preston participated in the concert at the Royal Albert Hall, and his performance of "My Sweet Lord" has received critical acclaim. Preston played the Hammond organ for the show and sang "Isn't It a Pity" and "My Sweet Lord" plus backing vocals on most of the other songs. Ringo Starr called him one of the greatest Hammond players of all time (in the theatrical version of the concert).

In 2002, he appeared on the Johnny Cash album American IV: The Man Comes Around, playing piano on "Personal Jesus" and "Tear Stained Letter".

He toured with The Funk Brothers and Steve Winwood in Europe in early 2004 and then with his friend Eric Clapton in Europe and North America.

In 2004, Preston performed as a jazz organist with a solo on Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company duets album teaming up with Charles and Norah Jones on the song "Here We Go Again"

In 2005, he recorded "Go Where No One's Gone Before", the main title song for the anime series L/R: Licensed by Royalty.

Preston played clavinet on the song "Warlocks" for the Red Hot Chili Peppers album Stadium Arcadium released in 2006. Although very ill by this point, he jumped out of his bed after hearing a tape of the song given to him by the band, recorded his part, and went back to bed.^[6] Preston's final contributions were the gospel-tinged organ on the Neil Diamond album 12 Songs, and his keyboard work on The Road to Escondido by Eric Clapton and J. J. Cale.

In March 2005, Preston appeared on the American Idol's fourth season finale. Playing piano, he performed "With You I'm Born Again" with Vonzell Solomon, who finished in third place.

Preston made his last public appearance in late 2005 at the Los Angeles press junket for the re-release of the Concert for Bangla Desh movie. He was in good spirits and talked to many in the press. Afterwards he played a three song set of "Give Me Love", "My Sweet Lord" and "Isn't It a Pity", featuring Dhani Harrison on guitar and Ringo Starr on drums for the final song only.

There still remains an unreleased CD of Beatles covers that he had been working on for several years before his death. Many tracks from this CD were previewed by him at The Fest for Beatles Fans shows in the years before his death.

Jazz musician Miles Davis was heavily influenced by Preston's music during his funk rock period of the early 1970s. The 1974 album Get Up With It features a track called "Billy Preston" in his honor.

Personal life[link]

In his autobiography Life, Keith Richards states that Preston lived an openly gay lifestyle but did not speak publicly about his sexuality.^[7][8][9]

At the age of 9, Preston was sexually abused by a man.^[10]

Death[link]

Wikinews has related news: Billy Preston dies at 59

Preston had battled kidney disease in his later years, brought on by his hypertension. He received a kidney transplant in 2002, but his health continued to deteriorate. He died on June 6, 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona, of complications of malignant hypertension that resulted in kidney failure and other complications. He had voluntarily entered a drug rehabilitation clinic in Malibu, CA, at the suggestion of guitarist Is'real Benton and suffered pericarditis there, leading to respiratory failure that left him in a coma from November 21, 2005.^[11] His funeral was held on June 20 at the Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, California, where his remains were interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Gospel albums[link]

• (1962) Sixteen Years Old Soul
• (1965) Hymns Speak from the Organ
• (1973) Gospel In My Soul (Re-edition of Hymns Speak from the organ)
• (1978) Behold!
• (1980) Universal Love
• (1994) Ministry of Music
• (1995) Minister of Music
• (1996) Words and Music
• (2001) Music From My Heart

Singles[link]

As a guest/session performer[link]

• (1963) Night Beat (Sam Cooke)
• (1969) "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down" (The Beatles)
• (1969) Abbey Road (The Beatles)
• (1970) Let It Be (The Beatles)
• (1970) All Things Must Pass (George Harrison)
• (1970) John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (John Lennon) - piano on "God"
• (1971) Sticky Fingers (Rolling Stones)
• (1971) The Concert for Bangla Desh (George Harrison and Friends)
• (1971) There's a Riot Goin' On (Sly & the Family Stone)
• (1971) Live at Fillmore West (King Curtis & Aretha Franklin)
• (1971) Barbra Joan Streisand - Keyboards and Drums
• (1972) Exile on Main Street (Rolling Stones)
• (1972) Wind of Change (Peter Frampton) - Plays piano, keyboards, harpsichord, accordion
• (1973) Ringo (Ringo Starr) - Organ on "I'm The Greatest" and "Oh My My"
• (1973) Goats Head Soup (Rolling Stones)
• (1974) Dark Horse (George Harrison) - Electric piano
• (1974) Goodnight Vienna (Ringo Starr) - clavinet on the title track, electric piano on "Only You (And You Alone)"
• (1974) It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (Rolling Stones)
• (1975) "You Are So Beautiful" (Joe Cocker)
• (1975) Extra Texture (Read All About It) (George Harrison) - Electric piano on "His Name Is Legs (Ladies And Gentlemen)"
• (1976) Thirty Three & 1/3 (George Harrison)
• (1976) Black and Blue (Rolling Stones)
• (1976) Love You Live (Rolling Stones)
• (1978) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Also acted the part "Sgt. Pepper" in the film
• (1981) Tattoo You (Rolling Stones)
• (1985) "Till My Baby Comes Home" (Luther Vandross) - Plays organ
• (1986) "Great Gosh A'Mighty (Been A Long Time Comin')" - Co-written with Little Richard - from the hit motion picture Down and Out in Beverly Hills. Little Richard - vocal.
• (1990) Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band - Plays keyboards and vocals
• (1990) Giovani Jovanotti (Jovanotti) - Plays keyboards & Fender Rhodes
• (1991) ...E La Vita Continua (Nino D'Angelo)
• (1993) Wandering Spirit (Mick Jagger) - "Sweet Thing", "Out of Focus", "Use Me", "Wandering Spirit" and "I've Been Lonely for So Long".
• (1996) Voyage of Dreams - Jephté Guillaume and the Tet Kale Orkestra - Plays Organ, Strings on "Al Di Yo", "Go Tell Them", "Kanpe", "Get Up")
• (1996) Donnie McClurkin (Donnie McClurkin) - Organ
• (1996) El Equilibiro de los Jaguares (Jaguares) - Organ/Hammond B3 on "Detrás de los Cerros"
• (1996) Peace Beyond Passion (Me'shell Ndegeocello) - Keyboards on "Deuteronomy: Niggerman"
• (1997) Bridges to Babylon (Rolling Stones) - Organ on "Saint of Me"
• (1998) Undiscovered Soul (Richie Sambora)
• (2000) The Harsh Light of Day (Fastball) - Plays keyboards on "You're An Ocean"
• (2001) Songs From The West Coast (Elton John) - "Electric organ" on "I Want Love", "The Wasteland", "Love Her Like Me"
• (2001) Reptile (Eric Clapton)
• (2001) One More Car, One More Rider (Eric Clapton, live) - DVD includes live performance of Will It Go Round in Circles
• (2002) Travelogue (Joni Mitchell) - Plays Hammond B3 on the track "You Dream Flat Tires"
• (2002) "American IV:The Man Comes Around"(Johnny Cash) - Piano on "Tear Stained Letter" and "Personal Jesus"
• (2003) The Colored Section (Donnie) - Plays Hammond B3 on the last track: "The Colored Section"
• (2003) Concert for George - Including "Isn't It a Pity" and "My Sweet Lord"
• (2003) Get Born (Jet)
• (2004) Me and Mr. Johnson (Eric Clapton) - Also appears in the DVD companion Sessions for Robert J
• (2004) Crossroads Guitar Festival (Eric Clapton)
• (2004) Genius Loves Company (Ray Charles)
• (2005) 12 Songs (Neil Diamond)
• (2005) Back Home (Eric Clapton)
• (2005) Choose Love (Ringo Starr)
• (2005) The Concert for Bangladesh (George Harrison and Friends) (Re-mastered version & video)
• (2005) Tough on Crime (Rebecca Pidgeon) - Plays Keyboards
• (2006) Stadium Arcadium (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - Plays on "Warlocks"
• (2006) The Road to Escondido (Eric Clapton, J. J. Cale)
• (2007) Reach (Is'real Benton) - Plays organ on "Have A Good Time"

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Billy Preston

Biography portal

• Billy Preston's official site
• Billy Preston at the Internet Movie Database
• Fox News "'Fifth Beatle' Billy Preston Dies at 59" June 6, 2006
• The Complete Apple Records
• Allmusic.com "Billy Preston"
• In-depth biographical obituary about Preston and his work from NewYorkNightTrain.com
• "Billy Preston". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=14524361. Retrieved August 11, 2010.