caption website associated_acts death_date death_place years_active birth_place label background birth_date instrument genre image article_title birth_name occupation
preston visiting the white house in 1974 notable_instruments = -lcb- -lcb- unbulleted list little beatles , sly & the family stone , king curtis richard , the rolling stones , ray charles , ringo starr , & his all-starr band , eric clapton syreeta , sam cooke , the 6 june 2006 scottsdale , arizona , u.s. 1956 -- 2005 houston , texas , u.s. derby , a & m , motown , vee-jay , capitol , apple , buddah solo_singer 2 september 1946 vocals , keyboards r , gospel & b , rock , soul , funk billy preston.jpg billy preston
 william everett preston musician , songwriter , producer
billy preston

william everett `` billy '' preston -lrb- september 2 , 1946 -- june 6 , 2006 -rrb- was an american musician whose work included r&b , rock , soul , funk and gospel .
a virtuoso keyboardist , particularly on hammond organ , preston was recognized as a top session musician in the 1960s , during which he backed artists such as little richard , sam cooke , ray charles and the beatles .
he then went on to achieve fame as a solo artist , with hit pop singles including `` that 's the way god planned it '' , `` outa-space '' , `` will it go round in circles '' , `` space race '' , and `` nothing from nothing '' .
in addition , preston co-wrote `` you are so beautiful '' , which became a number 5 hit for joe cocker .
preston continued to record and perform with other artists , notably george harrison after the beatles ' break-up , and eric clapton , and he played keyboards for the rolling stones on many of the group 's albums and tours during the 1970s .
alongside tony sheridan , preston was the only other musician to be credited on a beatles recording : the artists on the number-one hit `` get back '' are given as `` the beatles with billy preston '' .
since sheridan was labeled alongside `` the beat brothers '' , preston is , strictly speaking , the only artist to be labeled explicitly with `` the beatles '' .
stephen stills asked preston if he could use his phrase `` if you ca n't be with the one you love , love the one you 're with '' and created the hit song .
