Good bye Leon

[Red Oak]

Leon Russell has died at 74.

[jellowrestling]

Hoax

[jellowrestling]

Hoax

Whoops. Guess he did. Great talent.

[ralph]

never heard of him !!

[Red Oak]

Trust me Ralph, you have heard him play on many Hit records.

[ralph]

yeah , probably have , just don't know who he is !!

[jellowrestling]

never heard of him !!

You might recognize his biggest hit single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiQgZYsgfes

Some of the other songs he wrote were big hits for other artists, like "Delta Lady" (Joe Cocker) and "This Masquerade" (George Benson). He played on the hit songs of many artists, like the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Glen Campbell, and countless others.

[ralph]

thanks J.W. , yep , I have heard some of his songs !!

[GRANDPA]

Will there be a separate casket for his hair & beard?.

[rusty]

Leon was a great musical influence for me. I'm not sure there are many that have had such a diverse and lengthy career. Part of the greatest set of studio musicians in history, the Wrecking Crew, to Joe Cocker, Clapton, the Stones, Elton John, George Harrison, and on and on and on. Not to mention his great songwriting and solo recordings. I saw him about 5 years ago at the Granada and he was still great.

I ran across this video on youtube a few years ago from when he was the leader of "The Shindogs", the house band on the tv show Shindig. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7zY-UY8HtE

[BigTex]

It's always shocking to see Leon before he looked like Leon.

When do you suppose was the last time he wore a tux?

[LibraryLady2]

Did you know he recorded C&W under the name of Hank Wilson before he became Leon Russell?

[BigTex]

Did you know he recorded C&W under the name of Hank Wilson before he became Leon Russell?

Not exactly. He was already a well known session artist and had released a couple of albums as Leon Russell before he recorded some country songs under the alter ego of Hank Wilson .

[rusty]

It's always shocking to see Leon before he looked like Leon.

When do you suppose was the last time he wore a tux?

LOL! Not much telling.

By the way, that's the great James Burton on guitar.

[BigTex]

Leon Russell entered my consciousness because a friend owned the so-called "Leon Russell" album that included "Delta Lady" and "A Song For You." By the time I got around to buying my own copy, they had removed his cover of Dylan's "Masters of War." It did not reappear until the CD was released. Not sure what that was all about.

When my sister worked at a local department store that had a record player in her department, she borrowed my "Leon Russell and the Shelter People" album without asking. It came back with a big scratch on one side. I've never forgiven her for that.

I got to see him in concert in San Diego in the late 70s. He was still in his top hat period and even had a big symbolic top hat suspended behind him that lit up during the encore.

[jellowrestling]

GfB: did you know him?

[GFB]

GfB: did you know him?

No, just knew of him.

I enjoyed seeing the video from Shindig rusty posted.

I always wondered what he looked like under all that hair and beard.