Billy Preston

Biography

Billy Preston was an American singer, keyboardist and songwriter whose music moved between R&B, rock, soul, funk and gospel. A self-taught child prodigy born in Houston, he was playing organ behind gospel singers by age ten. In 1962 he became organist in Little Richard's band, and he later did session work for Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and others. He sat in on the Beatles' 1969 Get Back sessions, and the group's single Get Back gave him a co-performer credit, the only such billing it gave. That footage appeared in Let It Be (1970), and he later played Sgt. Pepper in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978). His hits included Will It Go Round in Circles, Nothing from Nothing and the Grammy-winning Outa-Space, and he co-wrote You Are So Beautiful. He performed at the Concert for Bangladesh (1972) and the Concert for George (2003). In 2021 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame admitted him.

59years old at death

Born September 2, 1946Houston
Died June 6, 2006Scottsdale
Star sign: VirgoThe sign runs August 23 to September 22
William Everett Preston (birth name)Also credited as William E. Preston and William Preston

Movie Career

Films: 7
Career span: 52 years1970 to 2022

Genres

Documentary86%, 6 films
Music71%, 5 films
Adventure14%, 1 film
Biography14%, 1 film
Comedy14%, 1 film

First and latest

Did you know?!

Early training
Preston taught himself music and never took a lesson. By ten he was onstage playing organ behind gospel singers, among them Mahalia Jackson.
A first
Preston appeared on October 11, 1975, as the musical guest on the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live, making him the show's first such performer.

Billy Preston movies on Netflix

The Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert2022IMDb rating 8.9as Himself
Sunday Best2021IMDb rating 7.8as Himself
Concert for George2003IMDb rating 8.6as Himself
The Compleat Beatles1982IMDb rating 8.2as Himself
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band1978IMDb rating 4.3as Sergeant Pepper
The Concert for Bangladesh1972IMDb rating 8.2as Himself
Let It Be1970IMDb rating 7.6as Himself

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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Let It Be1970 Documentary, Musicas Himself
IMDb rating 7.68.8K votes
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band1978 Adventure, Comedy, Fantasyas Sergeant Pepper
IMDb rating 4.37.7K votes
The Concert for Bangladesh1972as Himself
IMDb rating 8.21.8K votes
The Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert2022as Himself
IMDb rating 8.92.1K votes
Concert for George2003as Himself
IMDb rating 8.62.3K votes
The Compleat Beatles1982as Himself
IMDb rating 8.21.3K votes
Sunday Best2021as Himself
IMDb rating 7.81.4K votes

Most often with

Ringo Starr appears in six of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Ringo Starr

Paul McCartney

George Harrison

John Lennon

George Martin

Eric Clapton

Films together

Ringo Starr6 films together, 1970 to 2022
Ringo Starr's page
- The Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert2022IMDb rating 8.9Preston as HimselfStarr as Himself
- Sunday Best2021IMDb rating 7.8Preston as HimselfStarr as Himself
- Concert for George2003IMDb rating 8.6Preston as HimselfStarr as Himself
- The Compleat Beatles1982IMDb rating 8.2Preston as HimselfStarr as Himself
- The Concert for Bangladesh1972IMDb rating 8.2Preston as HimselfStarr as Himself
- Let It Be1970IMDb rating 7.6Preston as HimselfStarr as Self (The Beatles)
Paul McCartney5 films together, 1970 to 2022
Paul McCartney's page
- The Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert2022IMDb rating 8.9Preston as HimselfMcCartney as Himself
- Sunday Best2021IMDb rating 7.8Preston as HimselfMcCartney as Himself
- Concert for George2003IMDb rating 8.6Preston as HimselfMcCartney as Himself
- The Compleat Beatles1982IMDb rating 8.2Preston as HimselfMcCartney as Himself
- Let It Be1970IMDb rating 7.6Preston as HimselfMcCartney as Self (The Beatles)
George Harrison5 films together, 1970 to 2022
George Harrison's page
- The Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert2022IMDb rating 8.9Preston as HimselfHarrison as Himself
- Sunday Best2021IMDb rating 7.8Preston as HimselfHarrison as Himself
- The Compleat Beatles1982IMDb rating 8.2Preston as HimselfHarrison as Himself
- The Concert for Bangladesh1972IMDb rating 8.2Preston as HimselfHarrison as Himself
- Let It Be1970IMDb rating 7.6Preston as HimselfHarrison as Self (The Beatles)
John Lennon4 films together, 1970 to 2022
John Lennon's page
- The Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert2022IMDb rating 8.9Preston as HimselfLennon as Himself
- Sunday Best2021IMDb rating 7.8Preston as HimselfLennon as Himself
- The Compleat Beatles1982IMDb rating 8.2Preston as HimselfLennon as Himself
- Let It Be1970IMDb rating 7.6Preston as HimselfLennon as Self (The Beatles)
George Martin3 films together, 1970 to 2022
George Martin's page
- The Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert2022IMDb rating 8.9Preston as HimselfMartin as Himself
- The Compleat Beatles1982IMDb rating 8.2Preston as HimselfMartin as Himself
- Let It Be1970IMDb rating 7.6Preston as HimselfMartin as Himself
Eric Clapton2 films together, 1972 to 2003
Eric Clapton's page
- Concert for George2003IMDb rating 8.6Preston as HimselfClapton as Himself
- The Concert for Bangladesh1972IMDb rating 8.2Preston as HimselfClapton as Himself
Also two films together7 more actors
- Yoko OnoThe Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert (2022) and Let It Be (1970)
- Linda McCartneyThe Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert (2022) and Let It Be (1970)
- Ravi ShankarConcert for George (2003) and The Concert for Bangladesh (1972)
- Klaus VoormannConcert for George (2003) and The Concert for Bangladesh (1972)
- Michael Lindsay-HoggThe Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert (2022) and Let It Be (1970)
- Mal EvansThe Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert (2022) and Let It Be (1970)
- Maureen StarkeyThe Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert (2022) and Let It Be (1970)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.

Awards

One award and honor.

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Billy Preston's awards and nominations, grouped by award
Year	Award	Film	Result
Other honors
2021	Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (posthumous)		Won

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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