You can argue about who deserves the unofficial title of “Fifth Beatle” all day long. But the fact remains that only one man actually performed on nearly an album’s worth of material with the band, and that was Billy Preston.
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Preston arrived in that scenario with little forethought by either him or the band preceding it. He enlivened them in a musical sense. Perhaps just as important, his presence prevented them from openly sniping at one another.
Backing the Best
You hear the term musical prodigy thrown around a lot. Well, it applied to Billy Preston if it applied to anyone. As a preteen, the self-taught Preston was already on stage singing and playing organ with musical greats. When he hit his teens, he joined Little Richard’s backing band.
It was in that position that he first crossed paths with The Beatles. Little Richard came to Hamburg, Germany, as part of his touring responsibilities. The pre-fame Fab Four were playing there trying to make it big. They met Preston, but that meeting was no different from the hundreds of other musicians they encountered in those days.
Preston continued to advance his career throughout the 60s. In the latter part of the decade, he joined Ray Charles’ band. Once he heard what Preston could do on the organ, Charles stopped playing the instrument on stage, sticking to his piano. During one well-timed Charles’ show in London, George Harrison was in the audience.
A Happy Reunion
Harrison became transfixed with the organ player at the show. Only he didn’t recognize him because Preston had grown in height so much in the years that had passed. Once Charles introduced the band, Harrison remembered Preston. He visited him backstage and asked him to come to a Beatles session.
At that point, the group was in a bad way. Their 1969 album/documentary project (which would eventually turn into the LP and film Let It Be) had already almost collapsed once due to an argument between Harrison and Paul McCartney. Harrison guessed that seeing Preston again might ease some of the friction between the group members.
Not only did the other men enjoy seeing Preston, but they also realized his keyboard work could add something special to the songs they were rehearsing. Preston happily agreed to play. His work on organ and electric piano is all over Let It Be. In fact, the single “Get Back” was officially credited to The Beatles with Billy Preston, the first time a guest player had ever been granted that honor.
Preston’s Impact
Preston’s affability, as seen in the Let It Be and Get Back documentaries, seemed to loosen up the group. Legend has it that John Lennon wanted Preston to be added as a permanent member. Paul McCartney nixed that idea, feeling that trying to get unanimous agreement in making group decisions from five people would be even harder than it was with four.
The Beatles included Preston in the rooftop performance that culminated the project. His connection to them continued throughout the years, even after their breakup. He signed to the Apple label, and he contributed to albums by three of the four members at one time or another.
Billy Preston also carved out an extremely successful solo career. But a big part of his professional bio will always be devoted to the time he gigged with the most famous band on the planet and perhaps even kept them from prematurely fracturing.
Photo by Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music/Getty Images
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