THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,013) Billy Preston — “Encouraging Words”
Grand gospel funk from the Fifth Beatle/Beatle Whisperer #1’s (see #368) second Apple album, produced by George Harrison and with Eric Clapton and Delaney Bramlett on guitar and Ringo Starr on drums.
About the album, Bruce Eder says:
Encouraging Words was about as fine an album as Apple Records ever issued by anyone who wasn’t a member of the Beatles, and it’s also better than many of the Apple albums issued by the ex-bandmembers; but it’s also among the most obscure of any album that the label ever issued by a major artist — without a hit single to drive its sales, the LP never did more than brush the very bottom of the charts, and it was quickly lost amid the financial collapse of the label and the implosion of the Beatles’ business ventures; even many Billy Preston fans never had a chance to find out it was there . . . . [It’s a] bold and searing effort mixing gospel, soul, and rock . . . . [that] lived up its killer musical pedigree, partly an offshoot of the evolution of the Let It Be and All Things Must Pass albums, and of sessions that Preston and George Harrison had produced for Doris Troy [see #424]; but it also picked up where Preston’s playing for Ray Charles had left off in 1968.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/encouraging-words-mw0000618856
Funk My Soul adds:
[I]t’s not just one of the labels better offerings, it’s a criminally forgotten Seventies Soul gem – and arguably the best album of [Preston’s] long career. The cast is impressive – GEORGE HARRISON co-produced the entire album with Preston, ERIC CLAPTON played guitar on 3 tracks [including] “Encouraging Words”. RINGO STARR and KLAUS VOORMAN are said to be on Drums and Bass respectively, while DELANEY BRAMLETT also plays guitar on “Encouraging Words” with Eric. The Rhythm Section for THE TEMPTATIONS are on there (Bass, Guitarist, Drums) while members of SAM and DAVE’S band played Drums and Bass too. Both MADELINE BELL and DORIS TROY provided beautiful soulful backing vocals . . . .
https://www.funkmysoul.gr/billy-preston-encouraging-words/
As to Billy Preston, Eder writes:
Although he enjoyed a period of solo success with 1970s soul smashes . . . keyboardist, singer, and songwriter Billy Preston was best known for his prolific work as a sideman and collaborator throughout R&B, rock, soul, and gospel music. A self-taught child prodigy, the Houston native cut his teeth as a teenager in the late ’50s and early ’60s backing up Little Richard, Sam Cooke, and later, Ray Charles. . . . Early on, his musical talent on piano and organ was abundant. By age 11, he had already backed up gospel diva Mahalia Jackson and sung on television with Nat King Cole. . . . Preston’s musical tutelage continued with a teenage stint in Little Richard’s band; it was on a European tour with Richard in Hamburg, Germany, that he first befriended the Beatles. . . . During the mid-’60s, he was a regular on the popular TV series Shindig! and cut moderately successful records . . . but it was his growing docket of session work that helped build his reputation . . . . In January 1969, Preston was in London playing with Ray Charles when George Harrison invited him to visit . . . . [while the] band was in the midst of their Let It Be sessions, and the keyboardist’s nimble electric piano and organ parts proved to be the glue that helped seal up songs like “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Get Back.” His effortless musicality and easygoing nature were widely appreciated by the band . . . . Preston’s contributions to the album were so significant that he became only the second artist to receive joint credit on a Beatles single (for “Get Back”) and he was immortalized on film playing alongside the group during their final rooftop performance. Apple subsequently signed Preston as a solo artist . . . . He joined the Beatles one more time to play on their Abbey Road album, and even after their 1970 split remained a close ally, especially to Harrison whose solo albums frequently featured the keyboardist. The early ’70s were a peak era for Preston . . . . [T]he clavinet-led psych-funk instrumental “Outa-Space” became a major hit . . . . Preston . . . forged a working relationship . . . with the Rolling Stones who featured his talents liberally throughout the ’70s . . . . By the early-’80s, Preston’s career as a recording artist had ebbed, and [he had] ongoing struggles with drug and alcohol addiction . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-preston-mn0000590285#biography
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