Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Politics and Religion
Leon Russell dies

Leon Russell dies

Last updated on: November 14, 2016 at 5:30 am by Gene Veith

0 Comments

Leon Russell dies 2016-11-14T00:03:24-05:00 Gene Veith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Another icon of my youth, Leon Russell, passed away at age 74. A piano player from Lawton, Oklahoma, Russell became a member of the “wrecking crew,” that set of session musicians who were responsible for most of the pop music coming out of L.A. in the early sixties, from the Beach Boys to the Mamas and the Papas and the Byrds. From there, he started playing with British stars, of the magnitude of John Lennon, George Harrison, Joe Cocker, and Eric Clapton. Also Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and. . .you name it. The man knew everybody and his eclectic taste meant that he played just about everything.

He was also the main originator of the “Tulsa Sound,” with its country rock boogie-woogie shuffle that made a mark in the 1970s. I grew up in the Tulsa area around then, and Leon was part of that silly teenaged scene on local late night TV with Mazeppa Pompazoidi (Gaylord Sartain) and Teddy Jack Eddy (Gary Busey). I remember driving to Tulsa to hear a free concert in a park with Leon and B.B. King, one of the best concerts I’ve ever heard.

After the jump, a link to an informative obituary and a video of what he could do.

From ‘Master of Space and Time’ Leon Russell dies | News OK:

The list goes on and on: Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin, The Everly Brothers, Bobby Darrin, Jan and Dean, The Ronettes, Harry Nilsson.

Leon Russell played on all their albums, along with every Beach Boys record, including “Pet Sounds,” in addition to launching a successful solo career.

An influential Oklahoma-born singer, songwriter and session musician, Russell played on, produced, arranged and wrote some of the most famous and familiar rock ‘n’ roll songs of all time. He died in the early hours of Sunday at the age of 74. . . .

A pioneer of the influential Tulsa Sound, Russell seamlessly mixed genres like gospel, blues and country and sang with a loose style and distinctive gravelly voice.

The Tulsa Sound spread as its players moved west. Markham said Russell was one of the first in their circle of musical friends to move to Los Angeles, where he quickly built a reputation as a stellar sideman. . . .

In L.A., Russell became part of a group of studio musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, who helped Phil Spector develop his signature “Wall of Sound” and played on countless pop albums of the 1960s. The pianist contributed to many of the decade’s top singles, including the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” and Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ “This Diamond Ring.” It was during his time with the Wrecking Crew that Russell began writing songs.

“We’d play tracks and have chord sheets. Sometimes we’d play the tracks 10 times before we heard the melody or singer. Just out of boredom, I wrote songs to those tracks as they were going by,” he said in documentary “The Wrecking Crew!”

After Joe Cocker scored a 1969 hit with Russell’s “Delta Lady,” the Oklahoma native became ringmaster of Cocker’s legendary “Mad Dogs & Englishmen” tour, developing a mystical stage persona as “The Master of Space and Time.”

Russell also started his own label, Shelter Records, with offices in L.A. and Tulsa, releasing his self-titled solo debut — on which John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison all played — and launching the career of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

In 1971, “Leon Russell & the Shelter People” became his first gold album, and the following year, “Carney” held the No. 2 position on Billboard’s album chart for a month and produced his highest-charting single, “Tight Rope,” which peaked at No. 11. He played with George Harrison and Friends at the Concert for Bangladesh, the pioneering 1971 benefit that was chronicled with an album and concert film, and won a Grammy for his performance.

“One reason we all have trouble with describing Leon’s influence is the breadth of his experience. He wasn’t just a great songwriter; he wasn’t just a good recording artist. He did it all,” said Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Director Bob Blackburn, noting that the planned Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture in Tulsa, due to open in 2019, will showcase a vast collection of Russell memorabilia.

“To me, he’s a little bit like Woody Guthrie. … Leon was a poet with his lyrics, but whether it was ballads or just straight-up rock ‘n’ roll, he was putting with it this incredible music that was layered. And he never quit experimenting. He was never that worried about what was commercial, what would sell.”

[Keep reading. . .]

Previous Post

November 11, 2016

Merry Veterans Day

Next Post

November 14, 2016 Best case & worst case scenarios for Trump

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"As a (retired) lawyer I see potential liability from sharing things like power or sharp ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

"I am not sure the items you mentioned, though disused, discontinued, discarded, could be considered ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

"“Friend, use me in your relations with your neighbor just as you would want your ..."

DakotaLutheran

Luther on Tools

"Archaeology: It's the case that we don't have to go back very far to discover ..."

DakotaLutheran

Luther on Tools

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category America Apologetics Art baseball Bible Blog Christ Church crime Culture Economics Education Ethics Family Food Football Government History Holidays Holy Week Humor International Islam Language Law Life Issues Literature Media Medicine Movies Music Nature News Personal Philosophy Politics psychology Reformation Religions Sacraments Science sex Social Science Sports technology television terrorism Theology Uncategorized Vocation war

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where did the Pentecostal movement begin in the early 1900s?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Berlin Rome London Azusa Street, Los Angeles

Books by This Author Books by Gene Veith

See All Titles »