''I Wrote a Simple Song'' is the sixth studio album by American soul musician

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...

. Released in November 1971, it was his first album for

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

and marked the start of a run of commercial success in the United States that lasted through to the late 1970s. The album includes the hit single "

Outa-Space "Outa-Space" is an instrumental recorded by Billy Preston that originally appeared on his 1971 A&M Records-debut album, ''I Wrote a Simple Song''. To create the primary instrumental sound, Preston played a clavinet through a wah wah pedal. The so ...

", which won the

Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance was awarded between 1969 and 2011. *In 1969 it was awarded as Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental *From 1970 to 1971 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance ...

of 1972. Preston included a live version of the instrumental "The Bus", as part of a medley with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

Day Tripper "Day Tripper" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out" in December 1965. The song was written primarily by John Lennon with some contributions from Paul McCartney and ...

", on his 1974 album ''

Live European Tour ''Live European Tour'' is the only live album by Billy Preston, released in 1974 in Europe and Japan. It was recorded during his opening act stint for the Rolling Stones 1973 European Tour, featuring Mick Taylor on lead guitar and Preston's own b ...

''.

Recording

''I Wrote a Simple Song'' was Preston's first self-produced album. Preston's friend

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

played lead guitar on most of the songs, and supplied

dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

accompaniment on the title track. The album continued Preston's inclusion of gospel-themed songs which had started with the 1967 album ''

Club Meeting ''Club Meeting'' is the first live album by Billy Preston, recorded in 1965 at The Trip on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, and released in 1967. In 2004, ''Wildest Organ in Town!'' and ''Club Meeting'' were released together. Tr ...

''.

Reception

The instrumental "

" won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1973.*

15th Grammy Awards The 15th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 3, 1973, at the Tennessee Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee. The event was the first Grammy ceremony not to be held in either New York City or Los Angeles (the 64th Grammys, staged in Las Vegas in ...

Track listing

All songs by Billy Preston and

Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1981. A ...

, except where noted. Side one #"Should Have Known Better" – 2:28 #"

I Wrote a Simple Song ''I Wrote a Simple Song'' is the sixth studio album by American soul musician Billy Preston. Released in November 1971, it was his first album for A&M Records and marked the start of a run of commercial success in the United States that lasted th ...

" – 3:28 #"John Henry" (Preston, Robert Sam) – 3:15 #"

Without a Song "Without a Song" is a popular song composed by Vincent Youmans with lyrics later added by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu, published in 1929. It was included in the musical play, ''Great Day''. The play only ran for 36 performances but contained t ...

" ( William Rose,

Edward Eliscu Edward Eliscu (April 2, 1902 – June 18, 1998) was an American lyricist, playwright, producer and actor, and a successful writer of songs for films. Life Eliscu was born in Manhattan, New York City. His parents, Frank and Sofia Eliscu, were ...

Vincent Youmans Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer. A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...

) – 4:57 #"The Bus" – 3:32 Side two #"

" – 4:08 #"The Looner Tune" (Preston, Greene,

Jesse Kirkland Jesse Kirkland (born 22 January 1988) is a Bermudian competitive sailor. He is also a professional sports team owner of Futbol Longshots, a San Francisco based fantasy football franchise. Futbol Longshots are the current champions of the Boats a ...

) – 2:47 #"You Done Got Older" (Preston,

Bruce Fisher Bruce Fisher (born January 8, 1954) is an American songwriter, record producer, and playwright best known for his collaborations with Billy Preston. Fisher's best-known songs include "You Are So Beautiful", " Will It Go Round In Circles", and " ...

) – 3:08 #" Swing Down Chariot" (traditional; arranged by Preston and Greene) – 4:13 #"God Is Great" – 3:32 #"

My Country, 'Tis of Thee "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as "America", is an American patriotic song whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the ''de facto'' national anthems of the United States (along with songs like " Hai ...

" (traditional) – 4:27

Personnel

*Billy Preston - vocals, piano, Hammond organ, keyboards * David T. Walker - electric guitar *

- guitar,

Dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

*Manuel Kellough - drums *King Errisson -

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are stave (wood), staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (drum), quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), an ...

, percussion *Rocky Peoples - tenor saxophone *Carlos Garnette - trumpet *

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

- string and horn arrangements *

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

, Douglas Gibbs, Duane Rogers, Eugene Bryant,

Merry Clayton Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She contributed vocals to numerous tracks and worked with many major recording artists for decades, including a duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song " Gimm ...

, Myrna Matthews,

Patrice Holloway Patrice Yvonne Holloway (March 23, 1951 – October 3, 2006) was an American soul and bubblegum pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the musical trios Josie and the Pussycats, The Ikettes, and The Blackberries. Career Patrice Yv ...

, Sherrell Atwood,

Venetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born Australian singer and musical theater actress, and vocal coach. Fields was a backing vocalist for touring American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as working as a ...

- backing vocals ;Technical *Roland Young - art direction *

Jim McCrary Jim McCrary (August 31, 1939 – April 29, 2012) was an American photographer known for his 1970s album covers, most notably Carole King's ''Tapestry'', The Carpenters' '' Ticket to Ride,'' and Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May ...

- photography *Tommy Vicari - engineer

Charts

Singles

External links

Billy Preston-I Wrote A Simple Song at Discogs

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums Billy Preston albums A&M Records albums Albums arranged by Quincy Jones Albums conducted by Quincy Jones Albums produced by Billy Preston Albums recorded at A&M Studios