Billy Preston ~ Outa Space 1971 Funky Purrfection Version

As a kid in the 70's, Saturdays were the day we got up early, ate cereal and watched the Saturday morning cartoons until they were over and then it was time to clean house. The TV stayed on and Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" came on with all the latest and greatest songs I have come to love and cherish. This one was my favorite and it still reminds me of Easter back in 1971.



There are only 2 people that have ever shared label billing with the Beatles, the first being Tony Sheridan in 1962 and the second is Billy Preston with 1969's "Get Back" spent five weeks at #1 and was credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston".

According to Preston, he thought he was just a session player on the track, and was surprised to see his name right next to theirs. The Beatles met Preston at a Ray Charles concert where Billy was on keyboards in 1962. John Lennon was so impressed with his wizardry that he was going to ask him to join the band, but McCartney felt it would further complicate the band dynamic.

Billy Preston was born William Everett Preston on September 2, 1946 in Houston, Texas to Robbie Lee Williams. She played for the gospel group "Voices Of Victory" at the Victory Baptist Church after she moved her family to Los Angeles where Billy began to teach himself the piano. A true prodigy, he was playing the organ behind Mahalia Jackson by the age of 10. He also appeared on Nat King Cole's TV show then added acting to his repertoire by appearing in the film about WC Handy, "St Louis Blues" in 1958.

After his tenure with the Beatles, he worked with Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Eric Clapton and went on tour with the Rolling Stones. He had been signed to Apple Records in 1969 and his recordings had been gospel oriented right up until the end of Apple.

When Apple went belly up in 1970, A&M Records agreed to sign Billy and allowed him to produce himself. The first album released in 1971 was "I Wrote A Simple Song" which was also the lead single that the record executives were pushing. Preston felt that the instrumental funk of "Outa Space" was better, but it ended up as the B side.

No matter! An enterprising DJ flipped "I Wrote A Simple Song" which had peaked at #77 and "Outa Space" took off becoming a #1 R&B song and peaking at #2 on the Hot100. "Outa Space" came about in the studio where he first played a clavinet and then brought in a wah wah pedal for it. He started jamming right then and there calling out changes to the other musicians. It was magic and the first take was the keeper. He decided on the name as the music sounded really "spacey". He then added some organ and handclaps and the song was ready to claim the charts on July 1, 1972.


 Another musical prodigy was listening and his use of the clavinet on songs like "Superstition" and "You Ain't Done Nothin'" brought an air of urgency and anger that that perfectly conveyed that feeling, Stevie Wonder.


One last thing or you chart freaks, the song that kept "Outa-Space" from being #1 ? Bill Withers "Lean On Me".