Black History Month: Behold! by Billy Preston
Billy Preston kept his Christian faith through success and challenges
Behold!
Billy Preston
Myrrh Records
Released 1978
Billy Preston was born in Houston, Texas, in 1946 and raised in Los Angeles, California, by his mother. Despite never having a music lesson, by age ten he was playing organ with Mahalia Jackson. By the age of 12, he had appeared on television singing a duet with Nat King Cole and acted in a film on the life of W.C. Handy. He met the Beatles in Hamburg, Germany, while playing in Little Richard’s band. At the age of 16, he released his first solo album 16 Yr. Old Soul. He continued to release solo albums and work as a session musician throughout the 1960s, releasing his first gospel album Hymns Speak From the Organ. Preston’s career took a turn when he dropped in to visit his old friends the Beatles during the Let It Be sessions. The moment is captured in Peter Jackson’s Get Back film. Many believe that Preston rescued the sessions with his presence and musical abilities. He participated in the famous rooftop concert which was the last time that the Beatles performed live together. The Beatles’ single “Get Back” is credited to “The Beatles with Billy Preston.” His relationship with the Beatles continued after the sessions. He signed to Apple Records, the Beatles-owned label, and appeared on George Harrison and John Lennon’s early solo work. He switched to A&M records and released several hit singles. His instrumental track “Outa-Space” reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. He placed three more singles in the top 10 including the number one hits, “Will It Go Round In Circles” and “Nothing From Nothing.” Preston also recorded with the Rolling Stones, joined them onstage during their 1975 tour that included two Preston performances in the setlist, and recorded a duet with Mick Jagger on “Melody” which appears on the Stones’ Black and Blue album. In 1978, he recorded his second gospel album, Behold! The album features Preston playing organ, piano, and synthesizer on original gospel tunes and adaptations of older songs such as Blind Willie Johnson’s “Motherless Child.” Throughout the album, Preston is backed by a gospel choir sounding just like you were sitting in the pews at church. The title cut utilizes the choir to full effect, backing only Preston on acoustic piano. The entire album is an excellent example of soulful, funky gospel music. Preston was a committed Christian throughout his life although his beliefs were at odds with his secular work and rock and roll lifestyle. He played on Lennon’s openly atheistic song “God” and developed addictions to cocaine and alcohol. He struggled to reconcile his homosexuality with his beliefs and suffered from the effects of traumatic sexual abuse as a boy. He went through drug rehab several times and spent most of the 1990s in prison for violating probation on a drunk driving charge, cocaine possession, and insurance fraud. He was also arrested on sex charges involving a minor, but the charges were later dismissed. While in prison, Preston performed at church services and led the choir. After his release, he suffered from kidney disease and received a transplant. He also continued to struggle with his addictions and entered drug rehabilitation where he was struck with respiratory failure. He was in a coma for nearly seven months before his death on June 6, 2006, in Arizona. Preston is remembered as a keyboard virtuoso admired by other rock keyboardists including Rick Wakeman. He was nominated for nine Grammy awards, receiving two. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.