Preston is among those sometimes known as the ' Fifth Beatle'. Following this exposure, several musicians began asking Preston to contribute to their sessions.

In 1965, he released the album The Most Exciting Organ Ever and performed on the rock and roll show Shindig! In May or June 1965, he had a session with Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix in New York City, yielding the soul classic dirge 'I Don't Know What You've Got'.

In 1963, he played the organ on Sam Cooke's Night Beat album and released his own debut album, 16 Yr. In 1962, Preston joined Little Richard's band as an organist, and it was while performing in Hamburg that he met the Beatles. Handy biopic starring Cole Preston played Handy at a younger age. At 11, Preston appeared on an episode of Nat King Cole's NBC TV show singing the Fats Domino hit ' Blueberry Hill' with Cole. By the age of ten, he was playing organ onstage backing several gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson.

Noted as a child prodigy, Preston was entirely self-taught and never had a music lesson. Preston was born September 2, 1946, in Houston and moved to Los Angeles as a child with his mother Robbie Lee Williams. On May 12, 2021, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that Preston would be inducted with the Musical Excellence Award. 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 1970s. Preston is one of only two non-Beatle musicians (along with Tony Sheridan) to be given a credit on a Beatles recording at the band's request the group's 1969 single ' Get Back' was credited as 'The Beatles with Billy Preston'.

Additionally, Preston co-wrote ' You Are So Beautiful', which became a #5 hit for Joe Cocker. He gained attention as a solo artist with hit singles such as ' 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'. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he backed artists such as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, the Everly Brothers, Reverend James Cleveland, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. William Everett Preston (Septem– June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel.

Blind Faith by N.R. Walker