by Robert Wilkinson
April 2 was the birthday of one of the most versatile musicians in the history of rock, Mister Leon Russell.
Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges, April 2, 1942 - November 13, 2016) was around a very long time and played on some of the most famous cuts in history. He was a member of "The Wrecking Crew," a group of LA session cats who included Hal Blaine (until recently the most recorded drummer in history), Larry Knechtel, Glen Campbell, Barney Kessel, Tommy Tedesco, Billy Strange, James Burton (yes, THAT JB of the TCB band!), Steve Douglas, Nino Tempo, Gene Cipriano, Roy Caton, Slyde Hyde, Lou Blackburn, Dr. John, Carol Kaye, Joe Osborn, Earl Palmer, Jim Gordon, and Jack Nitzsche, to name several of the main "first call" musicians.
These outstanding musicians played on every type of recording, from TV theme songs to film scores, and across every type of American music. They backed Bing Crosby, the Monkees, Nancy Sinatra, the Beach Boys (including "Good Vibrations", "California Girls", and the revolutionary album Pet Sounds), the Mamas and the Papas, the 5th Dimension, the Byrds, Nat King Cole, Simon and Garfunkel, and were the crew Phil Spector used for his "Wall of Sound." For what may be one of his greatest piano parts, check out Leon's crescendo near the end of the number one rock and roll Christmas song of all time, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" Legend has it he blew Phil Spector's mind on the spot, no easy thing to do!
Leon was in the middle of it all! During his career he's also performed with some of the greatest in history without the Wrecking Crew, including Jerry Lee Lewis, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson, the Band, Badfinger, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Herb Alpert, and the Rolling Stones, and more than a few more. In the late 60s and early 70s, he wrote some tunes that became major hits for him, done by dozens of others, including "Delta Lady," "A Song For You," and "Tightrope."
It was during this period that he organized the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour with Joe Cocker as the front man, which also produced some of the most memorable hits of the era. Without further ado, here's Leon!
I won't link to the studio versions of the groups I listed a couple of paragraphs back, since they're all over the place, and I really want to put the focus on Leon, rather than the entire Wrecking Crew. To that end, here are some of his more famous contributions!
From relatively early on, here's Leon doing his major hit, "Delta Lady."
Here's Leon front and center with one of the great musical interpreters of our time, Joe Cocker! The following clips come from the remarkable "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" in 1970, where we hear some of the greatest songs of our time! We’ll begin the set with a couple of great videos, move into some audios in order of the set list, and then go back to videos.
“The Weight” (audio only)
"Feelin' Alright" (audio only)
"She Came in through the Bathroom Window" (audio only)
"Delta Lady" (audio only)
"Darlin' Be Home Soon" (audio only)
“the Ballad Of Mad Dogs and Englishmen”
2 years ago I had the video of “Let it Be,” but this year it’s gone. However, I found this audio gem from MDAE at Santa Monica featuring Claudia Lennear! “Let It Be”
“A Little Help From My Friends”
A real treat! From Nov 1970, here’s an entire 1 hour and 8 live audio-only concert of Leon Russell Live at the Fillmore East – First set
From that same Nov 1970 gig, here’s the entire 1 hour 30 second set! Leon Russell Live at the Fillmore East – Second set
From the Leon Russell and Friends "Homewood Sessions" in 1971, "A Song For You"
From the pioneering Concert For Bangladesh, here's Leon, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and a bunch of other greats in an audio-only clip doing "Jumpin' Jack Flash/Young Blood" Last year I had the video of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” but it’s gone. Instead, here’s Leon and George in "Beware of Darkness.” And in a real treat, here's a great rehearsal performance by Leon, George, Eric, and Ringo of "Come On In My Kitchen"
Here's Leon live doing "Delta Lady"
Here are three early treats featuring the Shindogs! The Shindogs were Leon, James Burton, Larry Knechtel, Glen Campbell and a few more greats in a group with rotating members playing as the house band for the TV show "Shindig." Here's Leon (sans beard!) with a young James Burton in November 1964 with Leon taking the lead on a grand piano doing "Roll Over Beethoven," and from Feb 1965 on Shindig, we'll close this blast from the ancient past with the Shindogs featuring Leon on piano and Glen Campbell on banjo doing the Hank Williams classic, "Jambalaya On The Bayou"
Last year’s clips also had them doing “Truck Drivin’ Man” but this year it’s disappeared. So instead, here’s a great video of a live performance in 2013 of “Truck Drivin’ Man”
From who knows when, a live performance of “Stranger in a Strange Land”
From March 1979, Leon and Saint Willie in an audio only 2 hour 5 minute concert! Willie Nelson and Leon Russell Live in Passaic New Jersey
Here Willie and Leon are joined by Maria Muldaur and Bonnie Raitt in a great performance of “Trouble in Mind”
Willie and Leon long ago in a live performance of “One More for the Road”
Here’s yet another television video of Willie and Leon, this time joined by Mickey Raphael cranking out an upbeat boogie of “Heartbreak Hotel”
I found it again! Here’s an awesome live performance by Leon, Saint Willie, and the immortal Ray Charles offering up "A Song For You"
Here’s another great live solo performance of "A Song For You"
I still can’t find the entire legendary 1974 performance at the 4th of July Picnic featuring Willie, Waylon, Leon, and Doug Kershaw. In years past I had "Jambalaya On the Bayou,” ”Good Hearted Woman,” “Willie The Wandering Gypsy and Me,” and “Sick and Tired ( Oh Baby What You Gonna Do)” but this year they’re all gone.
From 1971, here's Leon Russell & The Shelter People doing the Bob Dylan standard, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"
We'll close these live performances with Leon in NYC doing a solo medley of his best-known hits! From 2015, ”Hummingbird,” "Tight Rope," and “Delta Lady.”
And now, studio versions of two of his best known songs.
For our closer, here’s Leon and the great JJ Cale in a live 80 minute video recorded in Leon’s Paradise Studios in LA! JJ Cale & Leon Russell at the Paradise Studios - 1979
For our encore, Leon in a 1988 duet with Edgar Winter performing one of EW's signature tunes, "Frankenstein" and another classic! “Over the Rainbow.”
Mister top-hatted Shindog, your music will last forever!
© Copyright 2019 Robert Wilkinson
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