The look on Paul's face when Billy hits the keys is priceless. He clearly knows how great it sounds and that this is exactly what the band needed at the time.
Billy was awesome. I got the opportunity to see him when I was 19 back in the late 90s at a Beatlefest convention. He did the classic Beatle songs that he was in. That was a superb experience
He met the Beatles way way back before they were hyper famous. George hit the nail on the head - they were better behaved when they had a friend over to the house.
Wow did I ever love looking at this program Vickie and Peter! I'll try to fill in a few of the questions you raised. 1.) "Get Back". This was the original working title of the album the Beatles started working on in January 1969. It's also the title of the song by the same name written by Paul McCartney. The whole project was not going well, as the Beatles were overworked, lost their manager, who died suddenly and unexpectedly, were having serious financial problems, John was doing drugs heavily, divorced his wife and left his son Julian to leave with his new girlfriend Yoko Ono, and John, Paul and George were bickering with each other over who would get their songs on the album, as well as having disagreements with each other musically as to how the songs should be played by each member. It was not a "good vibe" as you guys like to say, and at one point, George had enough and suddenly quit the group. It took some doing by the other Beatles to get George back into the Beatles lineup, but this is where George, who, along with the other Beatles, knew Billy and his talent, and asked him to come down to the studios to help the Beatles record this album which, to that point, was not going well. However, when George came back with Billy, that terrible atmosphere was blown away. Billy literally help to get rid of all of the bad feelings in the group, and for the first time in a long time, the Beatles were having fun again making music. Billy was the key to this. By showing the Beatles how to have fun making music again, he allowed the Beatles, who would break up the following year, to go out with some of the best work of their entire career. I do want to follow up on your request for the song "Get Back". The Beatles used to have an official video which featured Billy on the keyboards. Unfortunately, this video no longer appears to be available, which is such a shame. We may need to react to the audio track only, and you'll just have to know that the electric piano you hear on that song is Billy Preston. Because the album got off to such a rough start, the Beatles re-named the album from "Get Back" to "Let It Be" from another Paul song on the album. When I was 11 years old in 1970, I remember hearing this song, and was too young to know it was the Beatles (it was one of their last hit songs before they broke up). However, I always loved that song, because I remembered the most beautiful part of that song to me was when that powerful church organ cut in right in the middle of that song. Well, that "church organ" was Billy Preston! I am going to send you the official video to "Let It Be", and, along with the other Beatles, you will see Billy playing that legendary part in that song. In the Beatles, John and Paul had each other to both help each other write their songs. As such, the bulk of the songs by the Beatles were written by either John or Paul, sometimes both together. George began to start writing his own songs, but John didn't want to help him out, and though Paul would help George, both of them treated George at times like a kid brother who they really didn't want to be bothered by. This left George feeling very isolated within the Beatles, as he really had no writing partner. However, when Billy came in, this began a life-long collaboration with him and George that would last until George passed away from cancer in November 2001. So, to bring it all to a close with both Billy and George, I first will be sending you George Harrison's monster hit song, "My Sweet Lord", which has a lot of influence from Billy on the song. He also plays keyboard on this song. Finally, the most beautiful and touching performance you've ever seen, Billy Preston leads an all star cast in memory of his friend and brother George Harrison at "The Concert for George" at the Royal Albert Hall in London. This performance brings tears, it's so powerful! I'm also going to send you a couple more Billy Preston solo songs, including an unbelievable instrumental, "Outa Space" and "Will It Go Round In Circles". Hope all of this gives you an idea of just what a talent this man was! Looking forward to continuing our Billy Preston journey on your channel!
What a fantastic and insightful message! You've shared some incredible details about Billy Preston's role in the Beatles' later years, especially in transforming the atmosphere and helping them create some of their best music. It's amazing to hear how he helped George Harrison's musical journey as well, and how Billy's influence extended beyond the Beatles. We can't wait to see all the videos you plan to share, including "Let It Be," "My Sweet Lord," and the emotional "Concert for George" performance. It's clear that Billy was more than just a sideman he was a true collaborator and an essential part of the Beatles' legacy. Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge with us!
Here’s another thing about Billy that people don’t bring up, hey may had a great career and he did but he struggled with the fact that he was gay, and he couldn’t come to grips with coming out especially during the 70s and 80s you couldn’t.
Billy Preston's solo hit songs are definitely worth checking out... Will It Go Round in Circles and Nothing from Nothing
I see you've already done Nothing from Nothing!
Thank You , We Will Check it out 💯👌❤️❤️
Billy Preston highly underated absolutely awesome...
Totally agree! Billy Preston was such an incredible talent, often underrated, but his contribution to music is absolutely awesome! 💖
The look on Paul's face when Billy hits the keys is priceless. He clearly knows how great it sounds and that this is exactly what the band needed at the time.
So true! Paul's face says everything-he knows it's perfect. Thanks for pointing that out!
Billy was awesome. I got the opportunity to see him when I was 19 back in the late 90s at a Beatlefest convention. He did the classic Beatle songs that he was in. That was a superb experience
What an incredible experience! Seeing Billy perform the classic Beatles songs live, especially at a Beatlefest convention, must have been magical.
He met the Beatles way way back before they were hyper famous. George hit the nail on the head - they were better behaved when they had a friend over to the house.
Meeting The Beatles before their fame must’ve been surreal! George’s observation adds a charming, human touch to their story
Wow did I ever love looking at this program Vickie and Peter! I'll try to fill in a few of the questions you raised.
1.) "Get Back". This was the original working title of the album the Beatles started working on in January 1969. It's also the title of the song by the same name written by Paul McCartney. The whole project was not going well, as the Beatles were overworked, lost their manager, who died suddenly and unexpectedly, were having serious financial problems, John was doing drugs heavily, divorced his wife and left his son Julian to leave with his new girlfriend Yoko Ono, and John, Paul and George were bickering with each other over who would get their songs on the album, as well as having disagreements with each other musically as to how the songs should be played by each member. It was not a "good vibe" as you guys like to say, and at one point, George had enough and suddenly quit the group. It took some doing by the other Beatles to get George back into the Beatles lineup, but this is where George, who, along with the other Beatles, knew Billy and his talent, and asked him to come down to the studios to help the Beatles record this album which, to that point, was not going well. However, when George came back with Billy, that terrible atmosphere was blown away. Billy literally help to get rid of all of the bad feelings in the group, and for the first time in a long time, the Beatles were having fun again making music. Billy was the key to this. By showing the Beatles how to have fun making music again, he allowed the Beatles, who would break up the following year, to go out with some of the best work of their entire career.
I do want to follow up on your request for the song "Get Back". The Beatles used to have an official video which featured Billy on the keyboards. Unfortunately, this video no longer appears to be available, which is such a shame. We may need to react to the audio track only, and you'll just have to know that the electric piano you hear on that song is Billy Preston.
Because the album got off to such a rough start, the Beatles re-named the album from "Get Back" to "Let It Be" from another Paul song on the album. When I was 11 years old in 1970, I remember hearing this song, and was too young to know it was the Beatles (it was one of their last hit songs before they broke up). However, I always loved that song, because I remembered the most beautiful part of that song to me was when that powerful church organ cut in right in the middle of that song. Well, that "church organ" was Billy Preston! I am going to send you the official video to "Let It Be", and, along with the other Beatles, you will see Billy playing that legendary part in that song.
In the Beatles, John and Paul had each other to both help each other write their songs. As such, the bulk of the songs by the Beatles were written by either John or Paul, sometimes both together. George began to start writing his own songs, but John didn't want to help him out, and though Paul would help George, both of them treated George at times like a kid brother who they really didn't want to be bothered by. This left George feeling very isolated within the Beatles, as he really had no writing partner. However, when Billy came in, this began a life-long collaboration with him and George that would last until George passed away from cancer in November 2001.
So, to bring it all to a close with both Billy and George, I first will be sending you George Harrison's monster hit song, "My Sweet Lord", which has a lot of influence from Billy on the song. He also plays keyboard on this song.
Finally, the most beautiful and touching performance you've ever seen, Billy Preston leads an all star cast in memory of his friend and brother George Harrison at "The Concert for George" at the Royal Albert Hall in London. This performance brings tears, it's so powerful!
I'm also going to send you a couple more Billy Preston solo songs, including an unbelievable instrumental, "Outa Space" and "Will It Go Round In Circles".
Hope all of this gives you an idea of just what a talent this man was! Looking forward to continuing our Billy Preston journey on your channel!
What a fantastic and insightful message! You've shared some incredible details about Billy Preston's role in the Beatles' later years, especially in transforming the atmosphere and helping them create some of their best music. It's amazing to hear how he helped George Harrison's musical journey as well, and how Billy's influence extended beyond the Beatles. We can't wait to see all the videos you plan to share, including "Let It Be," "My Sweet Lord," and the emotional "Concert for George" performance. It's clear that Billy was more than just a sideman he was a true collaborator and an essential part of the Beatles' legacy. Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge with us!
If you like organ, I recommend "Yeh yeh" by Georgie Fame.
( Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames - "Yeh Yeh" - Ready, Steady, Go!)
Thanks for the recommendation! We'll definitely check it out! Appreciate you sharing! 🎶
Here’s another thing about Billy that people don’t bring up, hey may had a great career and he did but he struggled with the fact that he was gay, and he couldn’t come to grips with coming out especially during the 70s and 80s you couldn’t.
It's inspiring that his music still resonated so deeply with so many despite the challenges he faced. Thank you for sharing this insight!