Was Billy Preston gay?

[nrgbeat]

I'm just asking.:D

[remicks]

*****

Billy Preston: that adorable big lug , gay ? :icon_question:

I'd never really thought about it before .....but lets examine the evidence .

Drug abuse .... finds religion .....alcohol abuse ...finds Jesus .....
but ... still endures a troubled life dealing with artificial demons infllicted on him by a judgemental society until his sad untimely death .



YEP .
GAY.



*****

[Boodikka]

He had that incident at his home with the young man accusing him of improprieties in the mid-90s, iirc. No one seemed to bat an eyelash at the accusations, so I always assumed it was an open secret, a la' Jeffrey Jones ("Deadwood"), for example.

[all*that*glitters*]

*****

Billy Preston:


YEP .
GAY.

does the pope gets down on his knees??
all*that*glitters*

[remicks]

*****

Hard to believe that no one amongst us here knows of this ... or hasn't made mention ..... but I last week in the Castro found this 1984 Billy Preston album on gay-operated Megatone Records.

ON THE AIR

Has anyone heard this ??

Billy on the front smiling big , with his trademark cane and top hat look with the album title oddly framed within in a theatrical marquee reading BILLY PRESTON ON THE AIR . .............. (dreadful graphics)

Does this title make sense to anyone ?

The cuts are :

Side One: (dance side? )

AND DANCE .....must be disco (?)
KICK-IT ..... (the habit? )
COME TO ME LITTLE DARLIN' ( congressional pages ?)

Side Two:

BEATLE TRIBUTE
IF YOU LET ME LOVE YOU
YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM LOVE
OH JAMAICA
HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE

Side One mixing by Marty Blecman and Ken Kessie
Scratching by James "Tip" Wirrick
Mastered by Jose Rodriguez 8-)


I look forward to listening , but I'm house sitting right now and am away from my turntables.
Anyone familiar with this ??
???

*****

[tony98]

I don't know that album at all, the last Billy Preston track i bought was his dance version of David Bowie's "Heroes", probably late 80's.

[neonlights]

wow.. now that's a curiosity! Can't believe I haven't come across this one before..

And suprisingly still in print.. Produced by the guy behind L.A.X. (Ralph Benatar) no less..

[Marcio**]

I also have one copy on vinyl of Billy Preston ''On the Air'' - 1984
Produced by Billy Preston, Ralph Benatar and Galen Senogles.
Percussion by Paulinho da Costa.





;)

[remicks]

*****



Back home and able to listen to my music :grin: and this Billy Preston ON THE AIR LP .
Still can't figure out why it's called that ??:icon_question:

A review :

Not sure how this project ever wound up on Megatone .... but I'm guessing the dance side was their involvement of this composite .
The album has two sides with two sounds ... side A the disco one ....B side the slow one. I have no doubt Billy's heart went more into the "B" side .
Some nice usage of his voice there including some convincing reggae on Oh Jamaica. Very sweet and simple rendition of HERE THERE AND EVERYWHERE . IF YOU LET ME LOVE YOU has that Luther sound popular at the time .
I think YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM LOVE was supposed to be the "hit" from this package ..... it has the most complete fuller sound ... mimicking the popular Michael McDonald sound of the early 80's.

A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES is Preston's ZODIACS song in which he simply names Beatle song after Beatle song in-between singing
"JOHN ,,,PAUL ...GEORGE ..and RINGO too .... they wrote some beautiful music for me and you " ..................:roll:


So it's on to the "A" dance side which is of more interest here .

The first cut AND DANCE is in an ultra high tempo pot banging style ...with a bass line that is quickly irritating ... the raw saxophone is fun .... the slide whistle not .... Billy does a little Michael Jackson "ee hee hee"" here and there . Sorry to have to conclude this, but Preston's vocals are a distraction here and it doesn't sound like he's having a good time .... He’s not really singing per say , just dong an annoying voice over … ....The one word for the overall sound of this number : contrived ...

KICK -IT is on the faster end of mid-tempo and the best cut on here .... although within ten plays it has gone from being OK to being more ho hum. It’s the type of song you use to bridge others : it won’t chase too many away …. but it’s not one that packs the floor on it’s own . I like the cow-bell 4/4 and the bass guitar has a good groove.... Rick James comes to mind .
... This cut is the album’s only instrumental …. in a wise move, Billy Preston is featured here not as a vocalist but simply as a keyboardist and that is most enjoyable ... once he kicks in I'm reminded of The Time ... maybe a tad more jazzy.... but i's great to hear Billy go at it.
What I think is most interesting about this song is how lonely a talented musician playing a real instrument sounds when playing alone like this on top of programmed synth stuff . The heat of a human being trying furiously to overcome the repetitious calculated coldness of all else heard here. A stark contrast. . It's evident that Billy Preston belongs in a studio full of like talented musicians ... jamming and grooving off each other in true old school style.

The final song :
COME TO ME LITLLE DARLIN’ is more of a funk tune featuring the line :
"Come to me little darlin’ … tie me up with your lovin” .... :o……



can't call this LP a " must have " .... beyond it being an interesting segment of a great artists's musical journey ....

*****

one more item: long time friend Merry Clayton adds backup vocals