Billy is probably best known for his 70s hits such as "Outa Space", "Nothing From Nothing", and "Will It Go Round In Circles", and for working with the Beatles on Let It Be but they're just part of a long legacy that included working with everyone from Mahalia Jackson to the Red Hot Chile Peppers, as well as writing Joe Cocker's smash "You Are So Beautiful".
Billy was a fairly regular visitor to Beatlefest, so I got to speak with him a couple of times and saw him perform there and with Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band. It's fairly well-known that he had some serious drug problems at times, and this occasionally manifested itself as he would be late arriving for appearences and was known to sometimes give rather vacuous answers to questions. (I once asked him what the rehearsals for the Concert For Bangla Desh were like, and all he said was "They were great.") But he was always a terrific performer. Last spring he did a full one-hour set at Beatlefest, with his usual touring band plus sax ace Mark Rivera. He did the big hits mentioned above plus a few Beatles songs, and was absolutely tremendous. This could easily have been a headlining set in a BB Kings or House Of Blues for a 40 dollar ticket, so to have it included in the price of the Fest was a real treat.
Billy will be sorely missed.
"Let not your heart be troubled Let morning sobbing cease Learn how to help each one another And live in perfect peace"
Thread ahead: Unknown Song and Artist Next thread: Oh God.......David Lee Roth on Leno singing JUMP *bluegrass style* Previous thread: iTunes Top Downloads -- June 04, 2006
iTunes Top Downloads -- January 17, 2010 This is a moment in time snapshot of the current top downloads from iTunes. We take a snapshot each week at the same time and post it here. To preview the songs, click on a link.