Billy Preston - Nothing From Nothing

William Everett "Billy" Preston (September 2, 1946 -- June 6, 2006) was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later as a solo artist.
Billy Preston was born on September 2, 1946 in Houston, Texas. At the age of three, the family moved to Los Angeles where began playing piano while sitting on his mother Robbie's lap. Noted as a child prodigy, by the age of ten.
In 1962, he joined Little Richard's band as an organist and it was while performing in Hamburg that Preston met The Beatles. In 1963, he performed organ on Sam Cooke's Night Beat album. In 1967, he joined Ray Charles' band. Following his exposure with Charles, several musicians began asking Preston to come to sessions, most notably The Beatles, who asked him to contribute to two of their albums, Abbey Road and Let It Be.
Preston is one of several people sometimes referred to by outsiders as a "Fifth Beatle." At one point during the Get Back sessions, John Lennon even proposed the idea of having him as the "Fifth Beatle" (to which Paul countered that it was bad enough with four). George Harrison, always Preston's best Beatles buddy. Preston played with The Beatles for several of the Get Back sessions, some of the material from which would later be culled to make the film Let it Be and its companion album, during which he joined the band for its rooftop concert, its final public appearance.
In 1989 Preston's high life began to unravel. He was hospitalized twice that year for drug-induced heart seizures and arrested twice for drunk driving. Rehabilitation efforts failed, and Preston began buying and using drugs openly in Los Angeles's MacArthur Park. "Cops would drive by and just let it go," he told People. "They figured we were all killing ourselves anyway." In 1991 Preston was charged by two Mexican laborers with attempted sexual assault at knifepoint. Preston denied the charges, which were eventually dropped, but during the ensuing investigation police found cocaine in the singer's home.
A court-ordered stint in California's Promises Residential Treatment Center was temporarily successful, and by 1997 Preston had resumed his busy schedule. That year he appeared on albums by Art Garfunkel, the Rolling Stones, BeBe Winans, and Enrique Iglesias, among others. The same year, however, he failed a drug test and spent 60 days in jail in Culver City, California. Released on probation, he landed what seemed like a perfect job, portraying an organist on the television sitcom The Good News. But Preston once again tested positive for drug use and in November of 1997 was sentenced to three years in prison. Another year was added to his sentence when he was convicted of having arranged a fake burglary of his house in 1994.
Preston was released after 18 months in California's Avenal State Prison, during which he gave up drugs cold turkey. His fellow inmates, he said, made his ordeal easier: "People knew who I was, they felt sorry for me," he told the New Times Los Angeles. "They were happy to see that I was getting it together." Preston made music constantly, performing at prison church services and starting a choir during his incarceration. He returned to the road once again after his release from prison.
Preston had battled kidney disease in his later years, brought on by his hypertension. He received a kidney transplant in 2002, but his health continued to deteriorate. He died on June 6, 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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[MrWaywayfarer]

Hey Mr Piturka, my friend. Glad to hear this song again. I was very young when heared first time. Great posting, Bro!!

[kathykay2010]

Billy was a great talent...! I always learn something new from your uploads Mr.Piturk! Thank You!