Don Preston (guitarist)


Don Preston is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose career parallels the history of rock 'n' roll from the 1950s to the present. He notably recorded in the 1970s with Leon Russell on Leon Russell and the Shelter People and other albums, and with Joe Cocker on Mad Dogs and Englishmen. He backed Russell at George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971 and appeared in the documentary film and on the live album The Concert for Bangladesh.

Biography

Born in Denver, Colorado, Preston moved to Whittier, California, at age 8. He started playing guitar and sang in the Sewart-Barber Boys Choir as its youngest member. By age 11, he was performing with a youth troupe, the Cactus Kids, singing and playing guitar at store openings, company parties, and USO clubs throughout Southern California.
With trips to see live broadcasts of TV's in nearby Compton, California, his musical style was taking root in country music as well as in the blues and rock 'n' roll as he became immersed in the diverse pop culture of Southern California during the 1950s.

1950s

Early influences included B.B. King, Lowell Fulson, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, and other emerging blues artists heard on late-night AM radio broadcasts. Within a few years, Preston would be playing the same bills with them as they headlined in the Los Angeles area. He had the opportunity to play his guitar with many other icons in clubs, halls, and historic L.A. venues like , emcee’d by Art Laboe. As a member of the Legion's house band, The Masked Phantoms, and at Harmony Park, he backed hitmakers The Penguins, The Coasters, The Olympics, The Jaguars, Ritchie Valens, The Righteous Brothers, Gene Vincent, Don Julian and the Meadowlarks, and Jessie Hill, among others. Those early experiences resonate in his music, as does the influence of guitarists who have inspired him, including Merle Travis, Les Paul, Barney Kessel, Chet Atkins, B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, Tommy Crook, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Bryant, Billy Butler, and Wayne Bennett, to name a few. One of his first session dates was playing for Barney Kessel at age 16.

1960s

In the 1960s, Preston's band, Don and the Deacons, played at the popular Cinnamon Cinder, a Studio City club owned by Bob Eubanks. At that time, he also played in the band Cotton Candy that had evolved from another house band called The Vibrants. From there, he joined The Shindogs with Joey Cooper, Chuck Blackwell, and Delaney Bramlett, who had been regulars on the popular TV show Shindig!. In 1966, the group's harmonies produced a hit single, and they went on the road performing in several West Coast states.
In the late 50s to 60s, a number of talented musicians from Oklahoma migrated to Southern California to make their way in Hollywood's music business. Among them were artists such as Chuck Blackwell, JJ Cale, David Gates, Jim Karstein, Jim Keltner, and Leon Russell, whom Preston first met in 1959 while standing in for Johnny Cale on guitar in a SoCal bar band.
As has been noted, Los Angeles in the 1960s was a germinating ground for a new strain of blues/rock. During this era, Preston recorded two albums on A&M Records, both produced by Gordon Shryock. The first was Bluse, and the second was Hot Air Through A Straw by Don Preston & The South with Bob Young, Casey Van Beek, and Bobby Cochran. He also recorded an album on Stax Records titled Still Rock, as well as solo albums on Shelter Records. His songwriting also produced a song for Three Dog Night, “Circle For A Landing,” which was later used in the Ken Burn's documentary .

1970s

Preston began performing and recording in the 1970s with Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, and on The Concert for Bangladesh. He also recorded and performed with Freddie King and Ricky Nelson.
He contributed vocals and guitar to Leon Russell's band and album Leon Russell and the Shelter People, which included the song "Stranger In A Strange Land," co-written by Preston and Russell. The all-star band, including Preston, then joined Joe Cocker and other talent, put together by Leon and Denny Cordell, for an eight-week tour during March–May 1970 known as the Mad Dogs and Englishmen troupe, whose performances are on film, DVDs, CDs, and online.
In 1971, a war for independence was escalating in Bangla Desh. Legendary sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar joined with Beatle George Harrison in response. Harrison organized the groundbreaking charity concert for hunger relief, The Concert for Bangladesh, attended by more than 40,000 at Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 1, 1971. Besides Harrison and Shankar, stars such as Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, and others, donated their time and talent. Don contributed vocals and guitar, backing Russell and others on stage. The concert is preserved on film, DVD, and CD/records.
He later continued to play with Leon Russell's Los Angeles/Tulsa-based band on tour and on recordings, such as Carney and Leon Live. Some of Don Preston's other work during the 70s included three albums with the influential Texas blues legend Freddie King. Preston then fronted his own southern blues/rock band, Drivin' Wheel, playing across the country, and also recorded a solo album on Shelter Records, Been Here All the Time. By 1978, Rick Nelson had recruited Preston to tour with his Stone Canyon Band.

1980s–1990s

During these years, Preston played numerous sessions, concerts, and gigs as a featured, side, and solo artist in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and produced an album, Sacre Blues, which blends the blues with elements of country and rockabilly.
He showcased his versatility in the late 1990s, performing in the musical review It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, at the Crossroads Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The show traced the history of "blues" music with more than three dozen songs. The theater company later moved to Montgomery, Alabama, for several weeks, after which, it took up residence for a year on Broadway in New York City where the musical received a Tony nomination.

2000s on

Moving into the 21st century, Preston continued to play on sessions and freelance gigs. In 2002, he again went on tour, this time backing songwriter/guitar player JJ Cale and his band. By 2003, he came full circle, reuniting with his old friend Leon Russell for several U.S. concerts. That tour was followed by European tours with the blues/rock band Canned Heat in seven countries as well as in the United States in 2005.
In 2008, artist, bassist, and session musician Klaus Voormann asked many of the musicians he had played with to collaborate in recording his commemorative album A Sideman’s Journey, which retraced the footsteps of his musical biography from the 1960s on. Preston contributed guitar and vocals on two songs.
In 2013, Eric Clapton assembled a group of musicians and friends associated with JJ Cale to create a tribute album honoring him posthumously. Preston contributed guitar and vocals to the album, The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale, released in 2014.
In 2015, a film directed by Les Blank, A Poem Is a Naked Person, filmed in 1972–1974, was publicly released by his son Harrod Blank after Les Blank's death. The film is a documentary about musician Leon Russell and includes concert and rehearsal footage, some of which includes Preston, as well as material capturing the atmosphere of the times. A Los Angeles screening took place at the Ace Hotel in July 2015.

Personal

Don Preston has been married to his wife, Cheryl, since 1987. He has one step-daughter from his current marriage, and two sons from a previous marriage. He also has nine grandchildren.

Discography

Albums

Guitar or guitar/vocals on the following releases :