"Nothing from Nothing" is a song written by

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 ...

and

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 " ...

and recorded by Billy Preston for his 1974 album '' The Kids & Me''. The song reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for one week in October 1974, becoming Preston's second solo chart-topper in the United States (following his 1973 hit " Will It Go Round in Circles"). It spent four and a half months on the chart. Preston performed "Nothing from Nothing" on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', the first musical performance ever on the show. The song was also used in late 2002 for all GM-brand commercials and was also prominently featured in both the 1975 low-budget independent bank-heist caper ''Flash and the Firecat'' and the 2008 film ''

Be Kind Rewind ''Be Kind Rewind'' is a 2008 buddy comedy film written and directed by Michel Gondry and starring Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, and Melonie Diaz with supporting roles done by Chandler Parker, Irv Gooch, Arjay Smith, Marcus Ca ...

''. The song is also mentioned in the novel '' Just Above My Head'' by

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

. The song was also featured in the 2024

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

animated Peanuts special '' Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin''. It was also featured at the end of the season 3 finale of ''

The White Lotus ''The White Lotus'' is an American Black comedy, black comedy drama Anthology series, anthology television series created by Mike White (filmmaker), Mike White for HBO that premiered on July 11, 2021. The series follows the exploits of the gues ...

''.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

Alternative rock band

Lazlo Bane Lazlo Bane is an American alternative rock band from Santa Monica, California, United States. They are well known for collaborating with former Men at Work member Colin Hay, and providing the song "Superman" as the theme for the television show ...

covered the song for their 2007

cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' Guilty Pleasures''. The artist

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...

covered the song for his 2018

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

session. This single was released posthumously. The Billy Preston version is featured in Season 2 of ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'' in episode 6, " The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka," during a fictional interview of

Bob Denver Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor who portrayed beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series '' The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' and Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television serie ...

on the talk show ''Jesus and Pals''. American folk band The Ghost of Paul Revere released a cover version, both as a single and as the opening track to their 2019 album ''Field Notes, Vol. 2''. American musician

Jon Batiste Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists including Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Prince (musician), ...

portrayed Billy Preston and performed a cover of the song in the 2024 film '' Saturday Night''.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1974 singles Billy Preston songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Billy Preston Songs written by Bruce Fisher 1974 songs A&M Records singles