A documentary about legendary session keyboardist and solo artist Billy Preston, which got its world premiere at the 2024 SXSW film festival, will be given a wider theatrical release in 2026. According Deadline, Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It will be screened at cinemas in select markets next year, starting with a U.S. theatrical premiere on February 20 at the Film Forum in New York City.
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The movie charts Preston’s eventful life and six-decade music career, which included collaborations with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, solo hits, and success as a songwriter.
Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It was directed by Paris Barclay, who won multiple Emmy Awards for his work on NYPD Blue. George Harrison’s widow, Olivia, is one of the documentary’s executive producers. The movie is being released via the Abramorama film-distribution company.
“We are more than thrilled that the soul of Billy Preston will be reborn thanks to our friends at Abramorama—and in the theater, where everyone can experience it,” Barclay said in a statement. “His story has reverberated with festival audiences, in part because we illuminate Preston’s brilliance—and also because it has so much to say about the world we live in today.”
Abramorama executives Karol Martesko-Fenster and Damon G. Smith added, jointly, “Billy was the only musician ever credited alongside The Beatles on a record label, and his genius touched generations of artists. This film celebrates not just his extraordinary talent, but his courage and humanity.”
More About Billy Preston
Billy was a child prodigy who worked with such artists as Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Mahalia Jackson, and other well-known artists while he was still a teenager. In 1967, he joined Ray Charles’ band.
In 1969, Preston was asked by The Beatles to contribute to the recordings sessions that yielded songs for the band’s final two studio albums—Abbey Road and Let It Be. Thanks to his work with the Fab Four, he’s sometimes referred to as “the Fifth Beatle.”
Preston also recorded two albums for The Beatles’ label, Apple, and George Harrison served as a producer on both. During the 1970s, Billy recorded and toured with The Rolling Stones. Among the many other artists he worked with were Aretha Franklin, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Peter Frampton, and Luther Vandross.
As a solo artist, Preston scored a No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Will It Go Round in Circles” in 1973 and “Nothing from Nothing” in 1974. He also enjoyed top-5 hits with “Outta Space,” “Space Race,” and “With You I’m Born Again,” a duet with Syreeta.
In addition, Preston co-wrote Joe Cocker’s enduring 1975 hit ballad “You Are So Beautiful.”
Billy also had a complicated personal life that included issues with drug abuse and coming to terms with his sexuality.
Preston died in 2006 at age 59 from multiple health issues. He was inducted posthumously into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
(Photo by TPLP/Getty Images)
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