Aw, Billy...
He... is leaving.
The Fifth Beatle is Gone.
I think I liked him better than Ringo, too.
Billy Preston. The guy who, as a kid, supposedly hung out on Ray Charles' front porch listenting to him play. The guy whose keyboards can be heard all over Ray's last CD. The guy whose keyboards absolutely MADE the song 'Get Back' get up and groove, up there on the rooftop of Abbey Road studios. And then there was the song that's been all over the radio today... Sing it with me: "Nothin from nothin leeeeeeeeeeeeeaves nothin!"
Sgt. PrestonI first noticed Billy in 1978 when he, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, and Steve Martin (oh yeah... and the Bee Gees) turned Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band into a lame story line. God knows, the movie was tough to take, but the BEST song in the movie. THE BEST, was Billy as Sgt. Pepper, belting out 'Get Back' at the end of the flick. (Runner up: George Burns singing 'I'm Fixing a Hole.')
It wasn't until years later that I saw "Let it Be." And if anyone else has seen this pissing match of a movie... God, they were so young... Billy is the only one who has his sh*t together all the way through. He and George, speaking of which, that was the last time I saw Billy... in the Concert for George. (If you like anything Harrison, it's a must-see.)
Aw, Billy... 59 is way too young to die. Take my word for it. But as the label on the '45 says, maybe That's the Way God Planned it. Idaknow... Either way, thank you, Sergeant Preston! And Godspeed.
Wednesday, June 7, 2006 at 08:10PM
Reader Comments (3)
Nice tribute.