Thursday, June 08, 2006
Billy Preston 1946-2006: The Fifth Beatle
A couple of years ago I bought a very ropey bootleg video of The Beatles infamous 'Let It Be' documentary from a record fair in Doncaster. Most people I meet, even Beatles fans, tell me they don't really think much of the LP, but since watching the film that day I've always replied 'Ah. But you've gotta see the film to really understand it.' 'Cos I'm a pretentious jerk. But I'm also right.
An old friend of The Beatles since their Hamburg days, black American keys player Billy Preston was invited to play with the band during the tense and fractious Let It Be sessions at George Harrison's behest, the Quiet One believing that the laid back organist's presence would force everybody to be on their best behaviour - the same had worked during the White Album sessions when George drafted Eric Clapton in for 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.' I loved watching Billy in the documentary, 'cos he just seemed to be so damned happy to be playing funky RnB music with the Fabs, at a time when the Fabs themselves had long forgotten how to do the same. I identified with him - this, you felt, was exactly how you would feel if you'ld been invited to jam with the Beatles. You couldn't even imagine being Paul or John. But you could easily imagine how it might feel to be Billy; a little nervous maybe, not wanting to take sides or step on anybodys toes, wary of Paul's snake charmer charm, warier still of John's violent temper...but also quietly confident, desperate to help the Beatles make some great soul music, your music, and if possible just have a good time, drink some wine, play your piano and JAM WITH THE BEATLES!
'Let It Be' is a flawed LP (like The White Album, that's a huge part of it's charm for advocates of it like myself), but it also contains some of their greatest RnB groovers, notably 'Get Back' and 'I've Got A Feeling,' the latter being one of my all time fave raves. Preston is integral to the dry, laidback funk they nailed on these tracks, and was awarded for his wonderful electric piano break on 'Get Back' by being only artist ever to recieve a co-credit with the Beatles, the single baring the legend: 'The Beatles with Billy Preston.' Pretty cool, huh? From the same sessions, his playing on 'Don't Let Me Down' (another fave) - heard on Anthology 3 - is magnificent. And he played with them during their last ever live performance on top of the Apple building. Pretty cool, huh?
There's a scene in 'High Fidelity' when Rob has made his 'Top 5 jobs', and lists 'Musician' at No1 - with the caveat that he would be happy being 'one of the Memphis Horns - not asking to be Hendrix.' That's how I felt about Billy when I watched 'Let It Be.' I'm not asking to be Macca, but it must have been nice, even preferable, to have been Billy Preston during those few weeks. Many have their claims to Fifth Beatle status, Billy deserved it more than most. He passed the audition.
An old friend of The Beatles since their Hamburg days, black American keys player Billy Preston was invited to play with the band during the tense and fractious Let It Be sessions at George Harrison's behest, the Quiet One believing that the laid back organist's presence would force everybody to be on their best behaviour - the same had worked during the White Album sessions when George drafted Eric Clapton in for 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.' I loved watching Billy in the documentary, 'cos he just seemed to be so damned happy to be playing funky RnB music with the Fabs, at a time when the Fabs themselves had long forgotten how to do the same. I identified with him - this, you felt, was exactly how you would feel if you'ld been invited to jam with the Beatles. You couldn't even imagine being Paul or John. But you could easily imagine how it might feel to be Billy; a little nervous maybe, not wanting to take sides or step on anybodys toes, wary of Paul's snake charmer charm, warier still of John's violent temper...but also quietly confident, desperate to help the Beatles make some great soul music, your music, and if possible just have a good time, drink some wine, play your piano and JAM WITH THE BEATLES!
'Let It Be' is a flawed LP (like The White Album, that's a huge part of it's charm for advocates of it like myself), but it also contains some of their greatest RnB groovers, notably 'Get Back' and 'I've Got A Feeling,' the latter being one of my all time fave raves. Preston is integral to the dry, laidback funk they nailed on these tracks, and was awarded for his wonderful electric piano break on 'Get Back' by being only artist ever to recieve a co-credit with the Beatles, the single baring the legend: 'The Beatles with Billy Preston.' Pretty cool, huh? From the same sessions, his playing on 'Don't Let Me Down' (another fave) - heard on Anthology 3 - is magnificent. And he played with them during their last ever live performance on top of the Apple building. Pretty cool, huh?
There's a scene in 'High Fidelity' when Rob has made his 'Top 5 jobs', and lists 'Musician' at No1 - with the caveat that he would be happy being 'one of the Memphis Horns - not asking to be Hendrix.' That's how I felt about Billy when I watched 'Let It Be.' I'm not asking to be Macca, but it must have been nice, even preferable, to have been Billy Preston during those few weeks. Many have their claims to Fifth Beatle status, Billy deserved it more than most. He passed the audition.
Labels: Beatles
¶ 12:41 PM
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I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly that seeing the documentary completely changed how I thought about the album. Yes, it IS deeply flawed, but looking at what was going on they achieved a damn sight more than any other group would probably have done.
Still not quite forgiven Phil Spector - who I otherwise love.
Still not quite forgiven Phil Spector - who I otherwise love.
Howdy Ms R! The LP is a mess, really, and it speaks volumes about the unravelling state of the band that 'Let It Be' exists as a sort of untidy, over complicated chronological anomoly in the Beatles otherwise perfect narrative arc, being of course recorded before, but released after, 'Abbey Road.' And there isn't really a definitive version -There's Glyn John's 'Get Back' version, which The Beatles were unhappy with, then Spectors stuff -which eventually became the LP we know, and more recently 'Let It Be - Naked,' ie: The Paul Version. Plus, as they were recording for the film the whole time, there are hundreds of hours of unreleased takes, snatches of song, dialogue etc, from which you could quite happily make hundreds of your own fantasy LPs...'Get Back: The Beatles' Let It Be Disaster' is an excellent, if incredibly nerdy minute-by-minute account of the sessions, well worth a look if you're interested.
The Beatles as a whole were of course totally obsessed with Spector (I've gotta say I'm not a huge fan, but that's for another time...), and so it's a shame that the work he did for them was so insensitive to what their work required. While I, like anybody, feel slightly uneasy about Macca's constsnt need to re-imagine the Beatles story in his own image, I have to say that I'm very glad he put out the 'Naked' version, if for nother reason than to learn what HE would have done with it back then - it fills in the blanks a little.
The Beatles as a whole were of course totally obsessed with Spector (I've gotta say I'm not a huge fan, but that's for another time...), and so it's a shame that the work he did for them was so insensitive to what their work required. While I, like anybody, feel slightly uneasy about Macca's constsnt need to re-imagine the Beatles story in his own image, I have to say that I'm very glad he put out the 'Naked' version, if for nother reason than to learn what HE would have done with it back then - it fills in the blanks a little.
a sort of untidy, over complicated chronological anomoly
Yep, nailed it.
And I'll look out for the Sulpy and Schweighardt book: looks good.
Yep, nailed it.
And I'll look out for the Sulpy and Schweighardt book: looks good.
Great post. I do not own Let It Be, nor have i seen the documentary but i will eventualy get round to it.
Despite the White Album's flaws i still think it is possibly my favourite Beatles record, with only Revolver sometimes managing to top it depending on my mood.
R.I.P Billy Preston
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Despite the White Album's flaws i still think it is possibly my favourite Beatles record, with only Revolver sometimes managing to top it depending on my mood.
R.I.P Billy Preston
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