Leon Russell In His Own Words (With a Little Help From His Friends)

 I probably became a fan of Russell's when he had his hit with "Tightrope", but really came to love his work when I saw him in such films as Concert For Bangladesh and Mad Dogs and Englishmen, where his style, voice and poundin' piano just knocked me out. He easily became one of my top keyboard players.

Obviously, I know the basics of his career path - working with the infamous Wrecking Crew in Los Angeles on countless sessions before being allowed to step out on his own - but never knew many details, so I was looking forward to this book. I was a bit surprised and disappointed by its diminutive size - considering all that this man has done, his tale could certainly fill volumes - and the fact that the story is cobbled together post-mortem, mostly through old interviews. That said, this was done by Steve Todoroff and John Wooley with Lon's blessing and help, even if he wasn't around to round it all out in the end.

While the early days move by pretty quickly, he does talk about working in the Tulsa, OK music bars as a teenager - you didn't have to be of age to work in the joints back then. He saw lots of the greats - Jackie Wilson, Ray Charles, Bobby Bland and even Esquerita, who Leon thought was terrific, even when he was hitting on Leon! Russell and his band even toured with Jerry Lee Lewis, opening the show and backing Jerry, with Leon even sitting in the Lewis for one show that he was too sick to play!

Leon also played in bands with David Gates - who later hit big with his band, Bread - although he does not have many kind words for David, and, after moving to LA,  did session work for Phil Spector, Ricky Nelson, Gary Lewis and the Playboys (he co-wrote, played on and produced several of their hits), the Shindig TV show and the TAMI Show, among many others! Damn, what a pedigree! 

Of course, he ended up being a huge star in his own right and had a successful career that lasted until his death in 2016. He tells some amazing stories, but the book doesn't come close to covering his entire life, and it ends randomly in the 70's. There is talk of a further, more complete book, so let's hope that it comes about but in the meantime, this is a fun read of various anecdotes of this great man's time on the planet.