Will It Go Round in Circles – Billy Preston – 1973

A virtuoso keyboardist and child prodigy, Billy Preston was one of the top session musicians of the 60s and 70s.  In the early 70s he had two #1 US singles of his own – Nothing From Nothing and, this week’s 70s hit, Will It Go Round in Circles.

billy preston fax

• William Preston, was a child prodigy.  At just ten years old he was backing gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson and Andraé Crouch. By 11 years old he’d made his first television appearance singing Blueberry Hill.  By 12  he’d appeared in his first movie; a W.C. Handy biopic.  Nat King Cole was the star and Billy played W.C. Handy as a youngster.
• By the time he was 16 Billy was part of Little Richard’s backing band.
• Billy played with many well-known artists including, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Steve Winwood, and Norah Jones.
• In 1962, as a 16 year old, Billy met the Beatles.  They were the support act for Little Richard.  It was seven years later that Billy met the Beatles again.  During a tense recording session, George Harrison had walked out and gone to a Ray Charles concert.  He saw Billy and invited him to the band’s Let It Be recording sessions.  Billy features on a number of later Beatles albums.
• In 1969, Billy signed as a solo artist to Apple Records releasing That’s The Way God Planned It before signing with A&M Records.
• In his later life Billy ran into a more than just a few legal troubles.  He was sentenced to nine months at a drug rehabilitation center and three months of house arrest for drug and sexual assault charges.
• In 1991, Billy was invited to join The Band.  He toured with them for a while but his legal issues made the continuing association impossible.
• Billy wrote a number of songs for other artists including being cowriter of Joe Cocker’s, You Are so Beautiful.  He also gave Stephen Stills the phrase, “…if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with…” which went on to become a hit for Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
• Billy died on June 6, 2006 after suffering from kidney disease for a number of years.

will it go round in circles fax

• Written by Bruce Fisher and Billy Preston, Will It Go Round In Circles appeared on Billy 1972 album Music Is My Life.
• Released as a single in 1973, Will It Go Round In Circles went to #1 on the US singles chart.  It stayed there for two weeks and the song was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks, and sold over a million copies.
• Will It Go Round In Circles lyrics.

will it go round in circles – billy preston – 1973

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My Sweet Lord – George Harrison – 1970

The first song by an ex-Beatle to reach #1, George Harrison’s 1970 hit My Sweet Lord, was dogged by plagiarism claims – but it’s a fine song.

billy preston

When George wrote My Sweet Lord in Denmark in late 1969, he did so with keyboardist Billy Preston in mind. Billy had done a lot of work with The Beatles and had a pretty successful solo career. He did release this song and had a minor hit but nothing like George’s success.

the first solo beatle #1

My Sweet Lord was released in in the US in November 1970 but not in the UK because George didn’t want to detract from the album, All Things Must Pass.

When it hit #1 on the US singles charts the demand for My Sweet Lord to be released in the UK was such that George gave in. Released on 15 January 1971, it went straight to #1 in the UK also.

Earlier in 1970-71 the other three Beatles also released solo albums – none of them released singles from those albums in the UK, however.

plagiarism?

The plagiarism suit between George and Bright Tunes Music is surely the most famous of all such cases. The case lasted over ten years with Bright Tune Music claiming the song was ripped off The Chiffons’ hit, He’s So Fine.

The short story is in 1976, a US court determined that George had copied He’s So Fine, albeit subconsciously. Then, in 1978, before the court made any decision on what damages should be paid, George’s ex-manager, Allen Klein, bought the copyright to He’s So Fine from Bright Tunes Music – rather a clever plan I thought!

In 1981, the court finally made a decision on what the level of damage should be – $1,599,987. However, it also ruled that, because of Allen Klein’s “duplicity” in the case, George should have to pay only $587,000 to Klein. That was the amount which Klein had paid for He’s So Fine.

Whether George copied it or not the fact is – they sound pretty similar but I don’t care, My Sweet Lord is one of the all-time great songs!

my sweet lord fax

• My Sweet Lord was released in the US on 23 November 1970 and the UK on 15 January 1971.
• My Sweet Lord reached #1 on both sides of the Atlantic. It spent four weeks at the top of the US chart and five weeks at the top of the UK chart.
• After George’s death in 2002, My Sweet Lord was re-released in the UK and again hit #1. Proceeds from the 2002 single went to the Material World Charitable Foundation, which Harrison started in 1973 to support charities that work with children and the poor.
• My Sweet Lord is a song of praise towards the Hindu god Krishna.
• Rolling Stone Magazine ranked My Sweet Lord at #460 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
• In the US My Sweet Lord was released as a double A-side with Isn’t It a Pity. In the UK it was also a double A-side with What is Life. It was released on the Beatles’ Apple Recording label.
• My Sweet Lord has appeared on five of George’s albums: All Things Must Pass (1970), The Concert for Bangladesh (1971), The Best of George Harrison (1976), Live in Japan (1992), and Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison (2009).
• After the plagiarism suit, The Chiffons cashed in by releasing a version of My Sweet Lord. Other artists to perform or record My Sweet Lord include: Andy Williams, Edwin Starr, Peggy Lee, Nina Simone, Julio Iglesias, Boy George, Megadeth, Jose Feliciano, U2, and Dolly Parton.
• Jonathan King released a version of He’s So Fine with the My Sweet Lord lyrics – or was it the other way around?
• My Sweet Lord lyrics

My Sweet Lord – George Harrison – 1970 video

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