Leon Russell R.I.P.

[Dave James]

Rock and Roll HOF inductee gone at 74.  A tough couple of days between his passing and that of Leonard Cohen.   

[JSngry]

 

[mjzee]

http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/music/leon-russell-musician-known-dynamic-performances-dies-74-n683181

[Hardbopjazz]

R.I.P. Leon. 

[Jim R]

5 hours ago, JSngry said:

 

When that guy was inspired to write a great song, he didn't mess around.  "A Song For You" was another one of his minor/major haunting ballads that EVERYBODY sang/recorded, and may have been even more powerful/memorable.

In the above article, Elton John's comment about Russell's tune "Back To The Island" being an inspiration to him intrigues me a bit.  I remember that song, and "Will O' The Wisp" was an LP that I bought at a rather slow and lonely time in my life.  I was never much of a lyrics guy, so I wonder if there's an angle to that song that I didn't pick up on completely.

[mjzee]

[JSngry]

Anybody know if there's a story about how the piano sudeenly pops up on this one, and if it is in fact Leon Russell? One of the great moments in American Popular Music, imo.

 

[A Lark Ascending]

'Delta Lady' was my favourite, initially in the Sheffield version. Remember the LPs on sale in the early 70s but only listened to them for the first time a few years back. Really enjoyed them.

RIP

 

[six string]

Leon was a titan for n the early 1970s.  He seemed to be everywhere and he wasn't a hanger-on.  He made things happen.  

[Dave James]

There were three pianists who played on thr Christm

On November 14, 2016 at 4:10 PM, JSngry said:

Anybody know if there's a story about how the piano sudeenly pops up on this one, and if it is in fact Leon Russell? One of the great moments in American Popular Music, imo.

 

There were three piano players who worked on these sessions, Al Delory, Don Randi and, yes, Leon Russell.  No way to know if he played on this song.  Interestingly enough, Sonny Bono contributed percussion parts and some sources say Barney Kessell was also involved.  

[medjuck]

The documentary about The Wrecking Crew makes it clear that Barney was a major component of it.  The Wrecking Crew, that is-- not necessarily this record.) 

[page]

R.I.P Leon. See previous post.