I was watching "Unsung" a few days ago and was floored by the story of Billy Preston. He was very talented and known as the 5th Beatle in music world.
He was also 'family', but the mix of his religious upbringing and personal issues caused Billy to have a hard adult life. He used drugs and alcohol to ease the pain for many years; and that abuse finally took a toll on his life.
He always had a happy face and you felt his spirit in his music. I hate that I just got to know about him, but I'm glad that I did.
Here is a video of one of his beloved songs. I really enjoyed this performance (and I'm an Atheist)
5 comments:
Wow!
I never knew he was gay!
Just shows how insidious life in the closet can be.
He had a beautiful voice! I've never heard of him. But I'm gonna catch up.
Oh, I'm an Atheist and I still listen to gospel music. I just love the inspirational message (when you strip away all the Jesus stuff).
Vik, I saw this one too and was blown away. There were more than a couple songs that I recognized, but I never knew about the Beatles or any of that stuff. Very sad story. Truly Unsung!
Yes indeed, he had a very good voice. I know him best from this song:
http://youtu.be/un63LEAN22E
And this one, kind of funky:
http://youtu.be/un63LEAN22E
And I love the song you linked. I too have been an atheist for a very long time. I do enjoy some gospel (Stephanie Mills anyone?)
Very cool V. A beautiful song.
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