1981 Billy Preston – The Way I Am
The Way I Am is the fourteenth studio album by Billy Preston, released in 1981. The song The Way I Am was written by David Paich and arranged by Marty Paich.
William Everett “Billy” Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American musician whose work included R&B, rock, soul, funk and gospel. Preston became famous first as a session musician with artists including Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and was later successful as a solo artist with hit pop singles including “Outa-Space”, its sequel, “Space Race”, “Will It Go Round in Circles” and “Nothing from Nothing”, and a string of albums and guest appearances with Eric Clapton, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others. In addition, Preston was co-author, with The Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson, of “You Are So Beautiful,” recorded by Preston and later a #5 hit for Joe Cocker.
Alongside Tony Sheridan, Billy Preston was the only other musician to be credited on a Beatles recording: the artists on the number-one hit “Get Back” are given as “The Beatles with Billy Preston”. Since Sheridan was labelled alongside “The Beat Brothers”, Preston is, strictly speaking, the only artist to be labelled explicitly with “The Beatles”. Stephen Stills asked Preston if he could use Preston’s phrase “if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with” and created the hit song.
Tracks
1 Hope (Bob Esty, Paul Jabara) 5:18
2 Good Life Boogie (Billy Preston) 4:16
3 Keep On Truckin’ (Frank Wilson, Leonard Caston Jr, Anita Poree) 4:24
4 A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke) 3:56
5 Lay Your Feelings On Me (Kay Lewis, Helen Lewis) 4:20
6 I Won’t Mistreat Your Love (Billy Preston, Bruce Fisher) 1:05
7 Baby I’m Yours (Van McCoy) 3:17
8 Until Then (Billy Preston, Jesse Kirkland, Joe Greene) 3:36
9 The Way I Am (David Paich) 4:58
Media
Musicians
Bass | Abraham Laboriel Sr |
Bass | David Hungate |
Bass | Ed Watkins |
Bass | Fred Washington |
Bass | Les Hurdle |
Bass | Marvin Charlot |
Bass | Nathan East |
Bass | Nate Watt |
Bass | Reginald McBride |
Drums | James Gadson |
Drums | Jeffrey Porcaro |
Drums | Ollie E. Brown |
Drums | Rick Shlosser |
Guitar | Art Wright |
Guitar | Charles Fearing |
Guitar | David T. Walker |
Guitar | Greg Poree |
Guitar | Marlo Henderson |
Guitar | Melvin Ragin |
Guitar | Paul Jackson |
Guitar | Red Rhodes |
Guitar | Steve Lukather |
Guitar | Trevor Veitch |
Keyboards | Billie Preston |
Keyboards | David Paich |
Keyboards | David Shire |
Keyboards | Mike Lang |
Keyboards | Reginald Burke |
Keyboards | Williams Bryant |
Synthesizer | David Budimir |
Percussion | Gary Coleman |
Percussion | Joe Clayton |
Percussion | Melvin Webb |
Percussion | Paulinho Da Costa |
Background Vocals | Jese Kirkland |
Background Vocals | Joe Greene |
Background Vocals | Julia Tillman Waters |
Background Vocals | Luther Waters |
Background Vocals | Maxine Willard Waters |
Background Vocals | Michael Reed |
Background Vocals | Mona Lisa Young |
Background Vocals | Oma Drake |
Background Vocals | Oren Waters |
Background Vocals | Stephanie Spruill |
Background Vocals | Syreeta |
Background Vocals | Terry Young |
Liner Notes
Producer – Paul Jabara (Track 1)
Producer – Bob Esty (Track 1)
Producer – Billy Preston (Tracks 2, 4, 7, 8, 9)
Producer – Hal Davis (Track 3)
Producer – Arthur Wright (Track 3)
Producer – Marty Paich (Tracks 4, 9)
Producer – Berry Gordy (Track 5)
Producer – David Shire (Track 7)
Producer – David Paich (Track 9)
Co-producer (Associate Producer) – Arthur Wright, Hal Davis, Russ Terrana (Tracks 2, 6)
Co-producer – Suzee Ikeda (Track 5)
Co-producer (Associate Producer) – Russ Terrana (Track 8)
Executive Producer – Suzanne De Passe Le Mat, Tony Jones
Arranged By – Bob Esty (Track 1)
Arranged By – David Blumberg (Tracks 2, 6, 7)
Arranged By – Arthur Wright (Track 3)
Arranged By – Marty Paich (Tracks 4, 9)
Arranged By – Gene Page (Track 5)
Arranged By – Billy Preston (Track 8)
Engineer – Allen Sides, Guy Costa, Jane Clark, Joe Robb, Kevin Wright, Russ Terrana
Mastered By – John Matousek, Russ Terrana
Photography By – Harry Langdon
Manufactured By – EMI Records Ltd.
Distributed By – EMI Records Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Motown Record Corporation
Printed By – Garrod & Lofthouse
Recorded At – Motown Recording Studios
Recorded At – Ocean Way Recording
Recorded At – NSP Studios
Recorded At – Cherokee Studios
Mixed At – Motown Recording Studios
Mixed At – Ocean Way Recording
Mixed At – NSP Studios
Mixed At – Cherokee Studios
Mastered At – Motown Recording Studios