Preston is one of very few musicians to be given a credit on a Beatles recording, which was done at the band's request; the group's single " Get Back " was credited as "The Beatles with Billy Preston".
He continued to record and perform with George Harrison after the Beatles' breakup, along with other artists such as Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones on many of the group's albums and tours during the s.
A child prodigy , Preston was self-taught, never having had a music lesson. By the age of ten, he was playing organ onstage backing gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson. Louis Blues , the W. Handy biopic starring Cole; Preston played Handy at a younger age. In , Preston joined Little Richard 's band as organist, and while performing in Hamburg he met the Beatles. In , he joined Ray Charles ' band. Preston is among those sometimes known as the " Fifth Beatle ".
After befriending the group in , Preston joined the Get Back sessions in January At one point John Lennon proposed the idea of having Preston join the band; Paul McCartney countered it was difficult enough reaching agreements with four. Preston accompanied the band on electric piano for its rooftop concert , the group's final public appearance. In , he appeared as Sgt. Pepper in Robert Stigwood 's film Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , which was based on the Beatles' album of the same name , and sang and danced to "Get Back" as the penultimate song. His association with Harrison continued after the Beatles' breakup in ; Preston was the first artist to record Harrison's subsequent international hit " My Sweet Lord ", on his album Encouraging Words , which Harrison co-produced with him.
