n 1969, session man Billy Preston became the only artist besides Tony Sheridan to share billing on a Beatles single, and saw his collaboration called "Get Back" go all the way to #1. Three years later, Preston himself got back near the top of the charts with an instrumental called "Outa-Space."

Born on September 9, 1946, Preston experienced his first musical inspiration through the sound of gospel. His mother was the choir director for the Victory Baptist Church in Los Angeles, and by virtue of that connection he had the opportunity, at age 10, to play with the legendary Mahalia Jackson.

Debuting in the Billboard Top 40 on May 13, 1972, "Outa-Space" was the first of Houston-born R&B vocalist/keyboardist Billy Preston's six Top 40 singles, peaking at #2 in July. It was taken from Preston's first LP for the A&M label, I Wrote A Simple Song, which was released on Jan. 22, 1972, and climbed to #32 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, remaining on the charts for 38 weeks.

On the basis of that performance, Preston earned a spot in the movie St. Louis Blues.

After touring with the likes of R&B legends Sam Cooke, Little Richard, and Ray Charles, Preston met The Beatles in 1968, which led to the sessions that produced "Get Back" and their Let It Be album. Billy then signed to The Beatles' label, Apple Records, and scored his first solo hit with the #62 "That's The Way God Planned It." A remake of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" followed, but it stalled at #90. Preston then left the label, finding a new home at A&M after assurances that he would be allowed to produce his own records.

For Preston's first single, the label released a track called "I Wrote A Simple Song." On its flip side was an instrumental he had written called "Outa-Space," so named because Preston felt it sounded really spaced out. "I Wrote A Simple Song" entered the Billboard charts at #86 in January, 1972. The song stalled at #77, but after a deejay flipped the song over it earned a second lease on life. With "Outa-Space" as the featured side it re-entered the charts in April, and in 12 weeks took Billy to the runner-up position, earning a gold record. He was also rewarded with the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Preston wasn't able to immediately capitalize on his newfound fame. After a re-release of "That's The Way God Planned It" climbed to #65, his next single, "Slaughter," faced its own chart death, stalling at #50. But he soon returned to his former glory, scoring Top 5 hits like "Will It Go Round In Circles" (#1) in 1973, another "spaced out" instrumental called "Space Race" (#4) later that same year, and "Nothing From Nothing" (#1) in 1974. His next single, "Struttin'," reached only #22, but the song Preston wrote for its flip side, "You Are So Beautiful," became a #5 pop hit for Joe Cocker the following year. Preston was given the chance to revisit his former hit with the Beatles when the producers of the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band asked him to perform "Get Back" in the film. Of course, Peter Frampton and The Bee Gees weren't quite the same draw as The Beatles, and the song stalled at #86. Preston's last Top 10 hit was a duet with Syreeta, the #4 "With You I'm Born Again."

In his later years, Billy suffered kidney disease brought on by his hypertension. He had received a kidney transplant in 2002, but his health continued to deteriorate. He voluntarily entered a drug rehabilitation clinic in Malibu, where he suffered pericarditis, leading to respiratory failure that left in a coma in November 2005. He died almost seven months later on June 6, 2006, aged 59.

In 2021, Preston was honored posthumously by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an Award for Music Excellence primarily for his prolific work as a sideman, including piano on The Beatles' "Get Back."

- Christopher G. Feldman, The Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles, Billboard, 2000.

 

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