"will it go 'round in circles?" (OT)

[Lowgens02 at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/7/2006 1:19:08 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
JOELTLE515 at aol.com writes:
>>>>>since no one mentioned it here, it's down to me. one of the greatest 
keyboardists of all time, and definitely underrated, billy preston has passed 
on at 
the age of 59 due to various illnesses including kidney failure (been in a 
coma 
since november).  I had the opportunity to meet him last year at "the fest 
for 
beatles fans" in new Jersey and it was a very cool experience and he was very 
cool to practically everyone he met. got to shake his hand, talk to him, get 
an autograph, photo, etc.    

so yeah, it's personal. ha. but even if it wasn't, I'd still be typing about 
him.       

>>>we'll miss 'ya billy. and thanks<<<<<

This was posted on The Shout and Relayers,surprised not here until now.
So thanks for doing so.

Billy Preston was an energetic rock n' roll keyboardist/singer who can bring 
the
house down with that energetic performance on any given night.

I witnessed that kind of a performance back in 1995 with the Ringo Starr 
lineup
with John Entwistle and company from the front row of the now defunct Sunrise 
Musical Theatre in Sunrise Florida.A theatre that is now a church but a 
theatre
in the past where I saw some of my greatest concerts,one being The Kinks and 
the other watching Billy Preston absolutely steal the stage spotlight from 
the 
likes of Entwistle,Mark Farner, Felix Pappalardi,Randy Bachman and Ringo 
Starr 
from that 1995 Ringo Allstar concert.I remember him dancing and sweat flying
off him as he banged the keys and belted out "Nothing from Nothing" and
"Round in Circles". He had the whole crowd singing,clapping and dancing
in a frenzy.It was truly the hilight of the night next to experiencing my 
other
hero John Entwistle from a few feet away.

Not many music lovers realize that Mr.Preston was a prolific songwriter for 
such biggies as Barbara Streisand,Rolling Stones,Jackson 5,Sammy Davis 
Jr,Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin  to name just a few.Of course he is most 
famous in that respect for collaborating with the Beatles and was 
affectionately  
known as the "Fifth Beatle".He'll be missed alright.The man who wrote nothing
from nothing meant everything to rock n' roll.


Regards,
Mike S