Talk:Billy Preston

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Billy Preston article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Archives: 1, 2

This level-5 vital article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Biography: Musicians

	Biography portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles
	This article is supported by WikiProject Musicians (assessed as High-importance).

Christianity: Holiness / Charismatic Low‑importance

	Christianity portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Christianity, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Christianity on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.ChristianityWikipedia:WikiProject ChristianityTemplate:WikiProject ChristianityChristianity articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.
	This article is supported by WikiProject Holiness movement (assessed as Low-importance).
	This article is supported by WikiProject Charismatic Christianity (assessed as Low-importance).

LGBTQ+ studies: Person

	LGBTQ portal This article is of interest to WikiProject LGBTQ+ studies, which tries to ensure comprehensive and factual coverage of all LGBTQ-related issues on Wikipedia. For more information, or to get involved, please visit the project page or contribute to the discussion.LGBTQ+ studiesWikipedia:WikiProject LGBTQ+ studiesTemplate:WikiProject LGBTQ+ studiesLGBTQ+ studies articles
	This article is supported by the LGBTQ+ Person task force.

Pipe organ (inactive)

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Pipe organ, a project which is currently considered to be inactive.Pipe organWikipedia:WikiProject Pipe organTemplate:WikiProject Pipe organPipe organ articles

The Beatles High‑importance

This Apple Records/Apple Corps-related article is within the scope of WikiProject The Beatles, which focuses on improving coverage of English rock band The Beatles and related topics on Wikipedia. Users who are willing to participate in the project should visit the project page, where they can join and see a list of open tasks.The BeatlesWikipedia:WikiProject The BeatlesTemplate:WikiProject The BeatlesThe Beatles articles

High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

To-do list:

For WikiProject The Beatles

A list of articles needing cleanup associated with this project is available. See also the tool's wiki page and the index of WikiProjects.

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Article requests : Articles on each Beatle tour (Category:The Beatles concert tours). See: Missing articles.
Expand : The Lost Lennon Tapes, notable radio series which has spawned many bootlegs. Apple Records See also: Adopt an article
Stubs : See: Category:The Beatles song stubs
Update : Pics/Graphics wanted: Kenwood.
Verify : Beatle wives
Other : Project: Add {{WikiProject The Beatles}} to the talk pages of all Beatles-related articles. Send a newsletter to members, canvas for new members and coordinate tasks. Enter articles assessed as stubs onto this list, also list articles needing cleanup and other work here.

This article does not yet have a related to do list. If you can think of any ways to improve the article, why not create one?

United States: Texas Low‑importance

	United States portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions. Template Usage Articles Requested! Become a Member Project Talk Alerts United StatesWikipedia:WikiProject United StatesTemplate:WikiProject United StatesUnited States articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.
	Texas portal This article is supported by WikiProject Texas (assessed as Low-importance).

Pop music Low‑importance

	Pop music portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Pop music, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of articles related to pop music on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Pop musicWikipedia:WikiProject Pop musicTemplate:WikiProject Pop musicPop music articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Monkees

Apparently he was an original Monkee too (on live/session recordings). So he was both a Monkee and a Beatle. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/29/davy-jones-dead-singer-monkees_n_1310769.html?ref=mostpopular 216.227.108.69 (talk) 06:24, 3 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

/* Singles */"You're So Unique" UK, "It Will Come in Time" UK and "One More Time for Love" US R&B

Re: Edit

Noticed an error/s which I have rectified.

US----US R&B-----UK

"It Will Come in Time" (with Syreeta Wright) — — 47 (corrected from 47 in US)

"One More Time for Love" (with Syreeta Wright) 52 72 — (added/included #72 in US R&B - confirmed with Syreeta Wright Wikipedia page)

Hope this helps.

Thanks. :)

PS Also noticed and corrected that The song "You're So Unique", did not reach #3 in the UK charts. In fact it failed to make the charts in the UK (which was a Top 50 at the time back in 1974).

What movie looks similar to Billy Preston?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.119.242.172 (talk) 16:58, 6 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Associated Acts – George Harrison?

Should George Harrison not be included in the Associated Acts section of his side box? He played on many of his records and they were close friends as well as colleagues. CityFeedback ^talk 08:50, 22 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

YES Preston also played with Harrison at the Concert for Bangladesh and the Dark Horse tour. Hotcop2 (talk) 12:34, 22 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Credits on Beatles records

"Preston was the only musician to be credited on a Beatles recording other than the group's four members: the group's number-one hit "Get Back" billed as "The Beatles with Billy Preston" There are several other musicians credited on Revolver and Mal Evans is credited on Rubber Soul. He may be the only musician credited on a Beatles single, unless you count Tony Sheridan.71.190.84.233 (talk) 23:40, 7 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

On which single was Sheridan credited? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 23:47, 7 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The article now says, "Preston was one of five musicians[2] credited on a Beatles recording other than the group's four members." What's this about? The reference says nothing so far as I can see, and I've no clear idea who the other four are. Anyone? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7D:3217:C400:95D5:28A:58F:37BA (talk) 08:23, 14 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

This issue's become confused. Preston was the only musician to receive a joint artist credit on a Beatles recording, which is significant. The two session musicians named on Revolver, Mal Evans on Rubber Soul, etc were rare credits for outside contributors, but that's not the same as the recognition Billy received on the "Get Back" single. JG66 (talk) 13:57, 29 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I understand what JG66 means by "that's not the same as..." but that doesn't change the fact that the sentence in the article is misleading or false, given the credit accorded to Alan Civil and others.

"In April 1969, their single "Get Back" was credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston", the only time such a joint credit had been given on an official Beatles-sanctioned release (as distinct from an unsanctioned reissue of some Hamburg-era recordings on which they were the backing group for Tony Sheridan)." Well, what about the original "My Bonnie" single, where Sheridan definitely was co-credited? Wasn't that record "Beatles-sanctioned"? Or is it supposedly disqualified because The Beatles were billed as "The Beat Brothers"? Jah77 (talk) 18:43, 22 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The original 1962 "My Bonnie" single was credited to Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers. ATCO and all the other labels put the Beatles name front and center after they became the greatest show on earth.Hotcop2 (talk) 23:07, 22 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Nitpicking, if you ask me. The "Beat Brothers" were The Beatles, and they shared a co-credit with Sheridan. Jah77 (talk) 09:50, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"My Bonnie" was released in 1961, btw. Jah77 (talk) 09:55, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

From the article on Tony Sheridan's "My Bonnie" album: "The German import became popular in Liverpool and Epstein secured a British release on 5 January 1962, this time credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beatles." The source given is Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles: All These Years, Vol. 1, and the article even has a photo of said single, so I'd say that settles it; Preston wasn't the only person to get performer co-credit with The Beatles. Jah77 (talk) 16:10, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. Sheridan gave credit to the Beatles, it was his record. Preston was given co-credit by the Beatles, not by a record company a couple of years after the fact. It's not the same thing, but evidently this is important to you. Enjoy. Hotcop2 (talk) 20:28, 24 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

On the British version of the single, it's Tony Sheridan and The Beatles. "Co-credited" simply means that two or more artists receive joint credit, regardless of who "gave" credit to whom. Evidently it's important to you to prove that Preston's co-credit was more "important" than Sheridan's, but that is a subjective matter that doesn't belong in an encyclopedia. The Beatles and Tony Sheridan were co-credited on a single released before anyone knew who The Beatles were. That's a fact, and your opinion of its historical significance doesn't change that in any way. Jah77 (talk) 10:17, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Here's the original 1961 single at 45Cat. Surely "The Beat Brothers" were The Beat Brothers? And the lead artist was Tony Sheridan? Martinevans123 (talk) 11:15, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

And what about the VJ album "The Beatles vs. The Four Seasons?" It's co-credited, and repackaged, just like Sheridan. Hotcop2 (talk) 13:12, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, what about it? Martinevans123 (talk) 13:23, 25 October 2021 (UTC) p.s. this one might be more relevant (Germany only again) where the main artists are given as "The Beatles".[reply]

And as I mentioned already, there's a picture here on Wikipedia of the British version: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/My_Bonnie_%28Tony_Sheridan_and_the_Beatles_single_-_cover_art%29.jpg And Hotcop2, can you please stop blathering about "repackagings"? This has been about contemporary releases from the beginning. Jah77 (talk) 14:42, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, that's Polydor NH 66833, issued 5 Jan 1962, shown at 45Cat here. But The Beatles are not the main artist there, so they can't "give credit" to Tony Sheridan? At best it's a single entity with a & in the middle? Martinevans123 (talk) 14:52, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The article reads: "...the only time such a co-credit had been given on a Beatles record". Where does it say the co-credit was "given" by The Beatles? If the idea was to refer exclusively to the post-Love Me Do era, reissues of earlier material would be irrelevant by definition and there would have been no need to mention Tony Sheridan in the first place. So either state explicitly that you're referring to a specific part of The Beatles' career and leave Sheridan out of it entirely, or acknowledge that in the early days, they shared a performer co-credit with another artist. The original wording was unclear on what kind of "co-crediting" was being referred to. If somebody wants the sentence to underline the uniqueness of Preston's contribution, I have no problem with that, as long as it's done in a way that makes it clear what exactly is meant by "co-crediting on a Beatles record". ("...the only time an artist was credited as a co-performer with The Beatles after the band started recording as independent artists", or whatever - something that unambiguously rules out Sheridan.) Jah77 (talk) 19:23, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, of course. It wasn't the Beatles' decision at that time. It was the record company, i.e. Polydor's, decision 100%. A bit later it would have been Epstein's. That suggested phrasing looks ok to me. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:32, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The problematic bit about the original wording was the qualifier "official Beatles-sanctioned release", which wouldn't clearly rule out Sheridan. If no one objects, I'll be happy to change the wording to what I suggested above - or whatever variation of it is deemed appropriate. Jah77 (talk) 22:29, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Regardless of all the debate above about Tony Sheridan, the statement about Billy Preston being the only musican credited on a Beatles record is just plain wrong. The French Horn player Alan Civil was given an explicit credit for For No One on the back cover of the original LP pressings of Revolver - example can be seen at https://fontsinuse.com/uses/58642/the-beatles-revolver-album-art

Jpmaytum (talk) 13:18, 14 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a distinction to be made between credit on a cover and credit on a label? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 13:32, 14 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Further digging reveals that five musicians have been credited on Beatles records: George Martin (several times, including Not a Second Time and on a couple of tracks on the back of Rubber Soul; likewise a credit for Mal ‘Organ’ Evans on Hammond for You Won't See Me also from Rubber soul ; Anil Bhagwat on Tabla for Love You To from Revolver as well as the Alan Civil credit for For No One.

Despite what the reference says, I would suggest rewording the article to say "one of the few musicians credited...."

Jpmaytum (talk) 13:30, 14 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a distinction to be made between an album credit and a single credit? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 13:33, 14 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Discography

Should Discography be a separate article? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:17, 24 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Relationship and career with the Beatles

The story of George Harrison quitting the band during the Get Back sessions, going to see Ray Charles in concert and from there convincing Preston to join the Beatles sessions has been pretty well disproven. Ray Charles was not touring in the UK during January 1969. Billy Preston, however, was in fact in London recording a segment for a BBC show on the 19th of January...three days before joining the Beatles sessions. Unfortunately, the supporting source for the misinformation in this Wiki is a Washington Post article, so it's likely never to be changed. Projectorhead (talk) 11:16, 19 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, new information has come to light. In the documentary The Beatles: Get Back it is now revealed that "Billy's just arrived in London to film a couple of TV appearances. He drops by to say 'hi' unaware that The Beatles need a keyboard player." We also see the actual footage of John Lennon telling Preston they need someone in on keyboards because they want to do the songs live, and saying "so if you'd like to do that you're welcome to." The incorrect story from the Washington Post should now be taken out, right? Projectorhead (talk) 11:34, 29 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I have removed it. But I guess we really need a secondary source to introduce the material from The Beatles: Get Back. Martinevans123 (talk) 12:46, 29 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Credit on Beatles record

I thought this was resolved, but the Beatles or Beat Brothers were given credit on Tony Sheridan's recording; Preston is the only musician credited by the Beatles on a Beatles record. Hotcop2 (talk) 00:52, 2 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]