Outa-Space - Billy Preston (1972) 12/12/21

"Get Back," the Beatles documentary now streaming on Disney Plus, has not only brought new insight into the final days of the Fab Four...it has reminded everyone how important keyboardist Billy Preston was to the group.

The actual song "Get Back" is credited on the label to The Beatles WITH Billy Preston, and there was serious discussion on whether or not to make Billy the actual "Fifth Beatle."

It didn't happen (the breakup was too far along), but Billy did NOT go unnoticed. Actually, he'd been kicking around rock & roll for quite some time, working with Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, the Everly Brothers and several other artists long before the Beatles came calling.

But certainly, working with John, Paul, George & Ringo opened up the floodgates and put his career into overdrive.

In 1971, he was working on his debut solo album, "Sing a Simple Song," and ad-libbed an instrumental that became a "Great Song of the '70s!"

On "Outa-Space," Billy plugged a clavinet into a guitar "wah-wah" pedal, then overdubbed it with organ, synthesizer, hand claps and other sounds. The end result sounded so "spacy," the title was obvious.

A & M Records didn't think the song was good enough to be a hit (typical!), but Billy was SURE of it. As a compromise, it was released as the B-side to the album's title cut. Well, it didn't take long before DJs flipped it over and started playing "Outa-Space."

Billy was vindicated when the song went to #1 on the Rhythm & Blues Chart and #2 on the Hot 100. It sold well over a million copies...and for good measure, it won the 1972 Grammy for "Best Pop Instrumental Performance!"

The Beatles had broken up...but Billy was on his way to solo stardom (while still working with artists like Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones)...with "Outa-Space:" a "Great Song of 1972!"