Billy Preston’s life was a gospel of joy — and a blues of survival

“Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It” is, by turns, heartbreaking and inspirational. Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Paris Barclay, the documentary celebrates the life and work of vaunted session player Billy Preston, who shared his talents with the likes of Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles across his storied career.

In Barclay’s deft hands, the film traces Preston’s progress from child prodigy to international hitmaker, a journey that feels like a slow burn as filmgoers come to realize the depths of the keyboardist’s personal despair in contrast with the sheer joy of his performance style. And when it came to Preston, his talents ensured that he played with the top-drawer artists of his day, including Little Richard, Sam Cooke, and the Everly Brothers.

After a top-flight career as a session musician, Preston’s star ascends ever higher after his January 1969 collaboration with The Beatles. In addition to performing on the fabled Rooftop Concert, he enjoyed the rare privilege of receiving shared billing with the Fab Four on the chart-topping “Get Back” single.

Preston’s association with The Beatles, especially George Harrison, propelled his career even further still. Recording for the Apple label, he released hit singles like “That’s the Way God Planned It.” In 1974, he scored an international number-one hit with “Nothing from Nothing,” which became his signature tune.

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Barclay’s documentary balances Preston’s considerable musical attainments with the challenges inherent in personal life, many of which stemmed from his sexual abuse as a child. Shouldering his inner pain led to protracted cocaine and alcohol addictions in the 1970s and beyond. As part of his story’s ongoing tragedy, Preston spent much of his life closeted from the reality of his sexual orientation. In 2006, scant days before he fell into a coma and died, Preston came out during a group therapy session. His manager Joyce Moore saw the musician’s death as a form of mercy, observing that in death he would never “have to look over his shoulder again.”

For all of the pain and despair at the heart of Preston’s story, his musical contributions brim with optimism and panache. While Barclay pulls no punches when it comes to Preston’s debilitating personal story, the real star of “Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It” is the keyboardist’s music. Viewers are treated to a bevy of footage, including Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971. The images of Preston performing at the famous concert, like his magisterial talent, are simply breathtaking.

The post Billy Preston’s life was a gospel of joy — and a blues of survival appeared first on Salon.com.