If you don’t know who Leon Russell is, let me first say he was (in my book) the best piano player.
Second, he was a studio musician, and his crew of musicians was called The Wrecking Crew. There is an awesome documentary about them on Amazon Prime.
Third, he was the bandleader for Joe Cocker and the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, and he played on the Concert for Bangladesh.
Fourth, he played piano on a lot of hit records in the 1960’s. Just to name a few of the big ones: California Girls, Surf City, Be My Baby, and Mr. Tambourine Man.
Fifth, he was a frequent collaborator with Willie Nelson.
I have had the great fortune to see Leon live twice, once with my brother and best friend and once with my wife; both were in very small intimate clubs. Also, for both, he sat down at the piano bench and didn’t stop for a like 3 hours! It was amazing! I turned down tickets to one venue in which he was playing with Bob Dylan. My wife didn’t want to go, and I didn’t want to go alone.
I didn’t even know there was a book written about him. My dad sent me a Facebook message and as soon as I saw it, I purchased it. It did take me longer than usual to read it as it was extremely detailed for everything he did, everything he recorded, and everyone he recorded with.
It was a lot of information, and I will tell you that I really struggled to get through it.
