William Everett Preston was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, the Everly Brothers, Reverend James Cleveland, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He gained attention as a solo artist with hit singles "That's the Way God Planned It", the Grammy-winning "Outa-Space", "Will It Go Round in Circles", "Space Race", "Nothing from Nothing", and "With You I'm Born Again". Additionally, Preston co-wrote "You Are So Beautiful", which became a #5 hit for Joe Cocker.
"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" is a song originally performed by Motown recording act the Undisputed Truth in 1972, though it became much better known after a Grammy-award winning cover by the Temptations was issued later the same year. This latter version of the song became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Family Affair" is a 1971 number-one hit single recorded by Sly and the Family Stone for the Epic Records label. Their first new material since the double A-sided single "Thank You "/ "Everybody Is a Star" nearly two years prior, "Family Affair" became the third and final number-one pop single for the band. In 2021, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song 57th on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The cover version by John Legend, Joss Stone, and Van Hunt, won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
I Wrote a Simple Song is the sixth studio album by American soul musician Billy Preston. Released in November 1971, it was his first album for A&M Records and marked the start of a run of commercial success in the United States that lasted through to the late 1970s. The album includes the hit single "Outa-Space", which won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1972. Preston included a live version of the instrumental "The Bus", as part of a medley with the Beatles' "Day Tripper", on his 1974 album Live European Tour.
Funke, Funke Wisdom is the fourth solo studio album by American recording artist Kool Moe Dee from the Treacherous Three. It was released in 1991 via Jive Records, making it the rapper's final album on the label.
"Do Wah Diddy Diddy" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and originally recorded in 1963, as "Do-Wah-Diddy", by the American vocal group the Exciters. Cash Box described the Exciters' version as "a sparkling rocker that bubbles over with coin-catching enthusiasm" and said that the "great lead job is backed by a fabulous instrumental arrangement." It was made internationally famous by the British band Manfred Mann.
"Love the One You're With" is a song by American folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, became his biggest hit single, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1971. David Crosby and Graham Nash, Stills' fellow members of Crosby, Stills & Nash, provide background vocals on the song. Also providing the backups are Rita Coolidge, her sister Priscilla Jones, and John Sebastian. They all sing the "Do Dos" that come before the instrumental portion and the Outro. The song was also recorded by the Isley Brothers, The Meters, Bucks Fizz, Luther Vandross, Bob Seger and Richard Clapton, among others.
"I'm Sorry" is a 1960 hit song by 15-year-old American singer Brenda Lee. The song was written by Dub Allbritten and Ronnie Self. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in July 1960. On the UK Singles Chart, the song peaked at No.12. AllMusic guide wrote that it is the pop star's "definitive song", and one of the "finest teen pop songs of its era". In 1999, the 1960 recording by Lee on Decca Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
"Cherish" is a pop song written by Terry Kirkman and recorded by the Association. Released in 1966, the song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in September of that year and remained in the top position for three weeks. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 7 song of 1966, and later as No. 2, after a revision of the year-end charts. It was certified Gold by the RIAA in the US in 1966. In Canada, the song also reached number one.
Treat Him Right is the debut studio album released by American country artist Barbara Mandrell. The album was released September 9, 1971, on Columbia Records and was produced by Billy Sherrill. It contained a series of singles Mandrell had released between 1969 and 1970 and would be the first of a series of albums recorded at the Columbia label.
"Up In Heah" is a song written by Tina Turner and Leon Ware. It was released as a single by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner on United Artists Records in 1972.
"You Better Move On" is a 1961 rhythm and blues song by Arthur Alexander. It reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1962. Versions by Billy "Crash" Craddock, George Jones and Johnny Paycheck were hits on the Country charts.
"Hey Girl" is a song written and composed by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It first became a popular Top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1963 when recorded by Freddie Scott. Donny Osmond took the song back to the Billboard top ten chart with his cover in 1971. Billy Joel recorded a version of the song for his 1997 album Greatest Hits Volume III.
"Space Race" is an instrumental track by Billy Preston, released as a single in 1973 on the A&M label, taken from Preston's 1973 album Everybody Likes Some Kind of Music. "Space Race" was awarded a gold record.
Slaughter is a 1972 blaxploitation film directed by Jack Starrett and starring Jim Brown as a former Green Beret captain seeking revenge for a murder. Stella Stevens, Rip Torn, Don Gordon and Cameron Mitchell co-star. This film was followed by a sequel the following year, Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973).
"Rose Garden" is a song written in 1967 by American singer-songwriter Joe South. It was first recorded by Billy Joe Royal on his 1967 studio album Billy Joe Royal Featuring "Hush". Versions by South himself and Dobie Gray appeared shortly after the original. Gray's version became a minor hit in North America in 1969.
"Here We Go Again" is a country music standard written by Don Lanier and Red Steagall that first became notable as a rhythm and blues single by Ray Charles from his 1967 album Ray Charles Invites You to Listen. It was produced by Joe Adams for ABC Records/Tangerine Records. To date, this version of the song has been the biggest commercial success, spending twelve consecutive weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 15.
"That's the Way God Planned It" is a song by American musician Billy Preston and the title track to his 1969 album of the same name. Issued as a single, the song was Preston's first release on the Beatles' Apple record label, following his guest role on the band's "Get Back" single. The lyrics to "That's the Way God Planned It" partly reflect the long musical apprenticeship Preston had served since childhood, mentored by artists such as Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, while musically the track combines the gospel tradition with rock. Produced by George Harrison in London, the recording also features contributions from Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Ginger Baker and Doris Troy. Having been edited down to three minutes for its single release, the full version appeared on the album, as "That's the Way God Planned It ".
Douglas Burnett Gibbs is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and session musician, who had a hit on the Billboard soul chart in 1972 with "I'll Always Have You There". He had also done work with Little Richard, Billy Preston and Chuck Jackson. A song he co-composed with Ralph Johnson has been sampled by Jay-Z for his hit "Song Cry".
"I Wrote a Simple Song" is a song by American soul musician Billy Preston that was first released as the title track to his album of the same name in November 1971. It was written by Preston and his regular collaborator, Joe Greene. The song was also Preston's first single on A&M Records, following the end of his tenure on the Beatles' Apple record label. In the United States, it peaked at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100. Radio programmers there soon favored the B-side, the instrumental "Outa-Space", which had been Preston's choice for the lead side. "Outa-Space" became a breakthrough US hit for Preston and his first RIAA-certified gold single. The single was released in Britain on January 21, 1972.
