A musician with good chops and a keen musical ear is worth their weight in gold, which is why some of the best players—especially ones like Leon Russell—end up on countless records by just as many different artists. In addition to his own career as a keyboardist and vocalist, Russell played on records for Bob Dylan, Ike & Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, The Beach Boys, Dick Dale, Frank Sinatra, and Herb Alpert, among others.
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“Leon was on several sessions that I produced with the Tijuana Brass,” Albert said after Russell’s death. Albert said that when Russell would complain of having nothing to play, he would reply, “Just wait and see if you feel something, and if you don’t, it’s okay. I just like your energy at the sessions.” Albert added, “He would always chime in with something special and affect the groove in a very Leon Russell way that was always unique.”
Russell began putting out more solo work around the start of the 1970s, the first of which, an eponymous debut, peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard 200. A modest ranking, certainly, but songs from that record (“Delta Lady” and “A Song for You”, most notably) are now 1970s standards.
Leon Russell Was Vying for Status As the Busiest Man in Show Business
It’s hard to imagine living a day in the life of Leon Russell, someone whose resumé sounds more like the work history of ten people than it does just one man. From his time as a session musician to his work as a solo artist, Russell supplemented his already busy schedule with establishing studios, founding record labels, helping his friend invent the drum machine, writing music for films like A Star is Born. He continued performing, writing, and recording until the year he died in his sleep on November 13 at the age of 74.
Speaking of his hectic lifestyle in a 1970 Rolling Stone interview, Russell once said, “I’m in a hurry to do whatever it is I’m doing. I’m not so sure what I’m doing. That’s the way I make my music, and that’s the way I prefer to live, instead of sitting around getting moldy. I’ve been doing that too much in my life already. Don’t let the speed alarm you.”
His life might have sounded like a circus, but at least he was the “top concert attraction in the world,” according to Billboard in 1973. Russell was a man who worked frequently with members of The Beatles, helped establish a specific style of country rock ‘n’ roll with plenty of soulful grooves, and was someone Forbes called a “musician’s musician.” Russell was set to continue touring into 2017.
Photo by Robert Knight Archive/Redferns
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