US: Keyboardist Billy Preston, a so-called "fifth Beatle" who also played with the Rolling Stones and enjoyed solo success in his own right, died in Arizona yesterday after a long illness.
Preston (59) had been in a coma at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea in Scottsdale, Arizona, since last November after suffering kidney failure and related illnesses, the legacy of a long battle with drugs.
A young keyboard prodigy, Preston, who was born in Houston, Texas, spent most of his life in the entertainment business. As a teenager, he played with the likes of Mahalia Jackson, Little Richard and Ray Charles.
He entered the Beatles' orbit in 1969, as the band was on the verge of breaking up. He performed on both sides of the Get Back/ Don't Let Me Down single, which was credited "The Beatles with Billy Preston" - the first time the band had shared the spotlight with a sideman. He also accompanied them during their last concert, the famous rooftop gig in London in 1969.
In the early 1970s, he topped the charts as a solo act with Outa Space, Will It Go Round in Circles and Nothing from Nothing. He wrote Joe Cocker's 1974 hit You Are So Beautiful and was also a fixture with the Rolling Stones, recording Can't You Hear Me Knocking and Heartbreaker.
In 1997, a California judge sentenced him to three years in prison for violating probation for a cocaine possession conviction.
In his later years, he featured on Ray Charles's last album, Genius Loves Company, as well as the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers album, Stadium Arcadium.