We can’t not give a salute to the passing last week of Leon Russell. He was 74 years old, and had been in poor health for several years; in July he had a quadruple bypass operation, from which he was still recovering.
Leon Russell was was too old to be an “official” Baby Boomer, but his impact on the Boomer generation was huge, beginning in 1970 when he released his first album.
Prior to that –in the 60s–he was one of a handful of elite L.A. studio musicians, known as the “Wrecking Crew,” who backed almost all the hits that came out of Southern California. Russell was the piano on “California Girls,” “Surf City,” “This Diamond Ring,” “Gentle On My Mind” plus dozens more.
After playing with Joe Cocker on the famous “Mad Dogs & Englishman” record, Russell had his own hits with “Roll Away The Stone”, “Delta Lady”, “Tightrope” and “This Masquerade.”
In 2010 Russell and Elton John collaborated on the wonderful “The Union,” and the following year, 2011, he was inducted into both the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
Shortly after news of Russell’s death, Elton tweeted: “My darling Leon Russell passed away last night. He was a mentor, inspiration & so kind to me. I loved him and always will.”
Leon Russell left a remarkable legacy of songs that are forever part of the Great American Songbook.
Below is a 4-minute clip from the documentary “The Wrecking Crew” where Cher and others musicians and artists share their “favorite Leon Russell story” and also his almost too soulful for words “A Song For You.”