Celebrity Graveland

September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006

William Everett Preston was a celebrated studio musician (piano/organ – mainly) who worked with an astonishing list of artists that includes Little Richard, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Sam Cooke, Johnny Cash and the Beatles.  It was his work with the latter during the “Get Back”/”Let it Be” and “Abbey Road” sessions that led to his unofficial designation as “the fifth Beatle.¹” He also played extensively with the Rolling Stones both live and in the studio.  Not bad.

Billy went on to release a number of solo albums and had hits in the Billboard charts, including 1973’s “Will It Go Round in Circles” and 1974’s “Nothing from Nothing”…both of which reached the top of the U.S. charts

Life outside of music wasn’t all that great.  Legal and substance abuse issues plagued Preston for years, but he continued playing and contributing with some of the most influential musicians ever until the end.  His health deteriorated, however, and he died of kidney failure at the age of 59.

Burial

Inglewood Park Cemetery – Inglewood, CA

Specific Location

Garden of Peace 151-B; The Garden of Peace is a series of outdoor mausoleums at the south end of the park, Billy is buried on the west side of the southernmost building (E), tier 151.

¹ – Along with a number of others who also can claim it.

This entry was posted on April 28, 2013 at 10:46 pm and is filed under Inglewood Park Cemetery with tags Beatles, Inglewood Park Cemetery, Musicians. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.