Russell collaborated with many notable artists and recorded 33 albums and 430 songs.[8] He wrote "Delta Lady", recorded by Joe Cocker, and organized and performed with Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour in 1970. His "A Song for You", which was named to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018, has been recorded by more than 200 artists, and his song "This Masquerade" by more than 75.[9]
Russell was born on April 2, 1942, the second of John Griffith and Hester Evel (née Whaley) Bridges' two sons at Southwestern Hospital in Lawton, Oklahoma.[11][12] Russell's mother said he started talking later than most children. She said while he was "watching the birds, and something was going on with the birds", Russell's first words were "What's the matter little birdie, you cry?". Russell's mother said "she was shocked, because he never spoke".[11] Russell said he "was born with 'spastic paralysis', now called cerebral palsy". An injury at birth had damaged his second and third vertebrae, causing a slight paralysis in the right side of his body, most notably affecting three fingers on his right hand. This caused Russell to favor his left hand and develop his signature left-hand-dominant piano playing style.[13] He said "My chops have always been sort of weak ... I have damaged nerve endings on the right side, so my piano style comes from designing stuff I can play with my right hand". Russell said the condition helped him become "very aware of the duality involved in our plane of existence here".[14] Russell also had a limp caused by the same condition that was once thought due to polio. He said "I felt like the world had cheated me big time" but added "If I hadn't had the problem, I probably wouldn't have gotten into music at all and would have been an ex-football player, selling insurance in Des Moines".[14]
Both of Russell's parents played upright piano, and when he was four years old Russell's mother heard him picking out the melody to "Trust and Obey", a hymn he had heard at church. He then began piano lessons in Anadarko, a 38-mile (61 km) trip to and from the family home. While still taking piano lessons, Russell learned the alto saxophone and cornet in his elementary school band.[11] He then learned to play the baritone horn. After impressing the Maysville High School band director, Russell was invited to join the high school marching band while in the fifth grade.[15] Russell said he learned to fake a classical piano style, saying "I studied classical music for a long time, maybe ten years, and I realized, finally, I was never going to have the hands to play that stuff. It was too complicated. I invented ways to play in a classical style that was not the real deal".[16]
Claude Russell Bridges 1958 Will Rogers High School yearbook photo
High school
Russell attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His classmates included Elvin Bishop, Anita Bryant, and David Gates. His first record appearance was in 1957 age 15 years old, when he played piano on "Jo-Baby", a song written by 16 year-old Gates. Originally attributed to "The Accents" it was released on the Tulsa-based Perspective Sound label then re-released a year later and distributed nationally by Marty Robbins on his Robbins Records record label under the band name "David Gates & The Accents".[15] Russell collaborated later with Gates after high school in the band The Fencemen.[17]
Russell credited his awareness of the precursors of American soul music to a homemade AM crystal radio. [18] He was offered a chance to tour with Jerry Lee Lewis after graduating. Explaining his decision to not attend college, Russell said, "I figured this was my chance to eat in a lot of restaurants and travel around, play some rock and roll music, which I decided was easier and better".[19]
Performing while underage in clubs and bars, Russell assumed the name "Leon Russell" from a fake ID card he used to enter clubs even though he was a high school student. At the time, Oklahoma was a "dry" state, so teenagers were able to perform in clubs that ordinarily would have only been open to those over 21 years of age.[14][20]
Although still in high school, Russell performed at area supper clubs, bars and nightclubs with his group "The Starlighters" (Russell, J.J. Cale, Leo Feathers, Johnny Williams, and Chuck Blackwell). Blackwell said Russell was "...especially good at playing Erroll Garner-style jazz during dinner, but then, after everybody got through eating, he'd break into Jerry Lee Lewis".[11] Russell also backed groups in Tulsa including Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks, often until early morning, after having worked through the night.[15][21] Russell said "I worked six or seven nights a week till I left Tulsa at 17. I'd work 6 to 11 (pm) at a beer joint, then 1 to 5 (am) at an after-hours club. It was a hard schedule to do when going to school. I slept in English a lot".[22]
Los Angeles
Russell said "I got out to California, and they were more serious about their liquor laws. I about starved to death because it was so much harder to find work at my age".[22] Settling in Los Angeles, he studied guitar with James Burton.
Herb Alpert said of Russell, "Leon was on several sessions that I produced with the Tijuana Brass. He was always dressed in a suit and tie, with short hair and no beard! This was soon after he arrived in Los Angeles from Oklahoma. We would go through the same routine each time I started rehearsing the music. He would sit at the piano and he would always say, 'I don’t know what to play'. And I would say, 'Just wait and see if you feel something, and if you don’t it’s okay. I just like your energy at the sessions'. Well, he would always chime in with something special and affect the groove in a very Leon Russell way that was always unique. Leon was a wonderful musician and had a major effect on all of my recordings. His touch can be heard on many Tijuana Brass records, including "Whipped Cream" and "A Taste of Honey". To top it off, Leon was a true gentleman with a special talent and he was a person that I had a great feeling for".[16] In 1962 Russell played piano on Walter Brennan's lp Old Rivers, produced by Snuff Garrett. Garrett said "I could talk style with him (Russell) and he'd do it. I'd name a record. I'd go, 'I like the piano on this... and he'd go, 'Okay', and do the piano part... I fell in love with his playing".[25]
Credited as Russell Bridges, he contributed to the Canadian Sweethearts' (Bob Regan and Lucille Starr) first A&M Records recording session with Dorsey Burnette in 1963. The lp Introducing The Canadian Sweethearts was released in 1964.[26] Glen Campbell's 1967 album Gentle on My Mind credited him as Russell Bridges on piano.[27]
Early media appearances
In 1962 a 20 year-old Russell appeared on Los Angeles TV station KCOP leading The Leon Russell Trio on the rock 'n' roll show Stepping Out. Airing at 11:00 at night, the live broadcast often aired multiple times per week.[28] He was in the 1964 concert film T.A.M.I. Show playing piano with the Wrecking Crew sporting short, dark, slicked-back hair, in contrast to his later look.[24]
Early recordings
In 1962 a 20 year-old Russell once again collaborated with David Gates, releasing the 45 rpm single "Sad September / Tryin’ To Be Someone" which featured session guitarist James Burton. Credited to David & Lee and later to Dave & Lee, the record was produced by Gary Paxton and first released on Paxton's G.S.P. Records label.[29][30]
Composer
In the mid-1960s, he wrote or co-wrote songs, including two hits for Gary Lewis and the Playboys: "Everybody Loves a Clown" (which reached the Billboard Top 40 on October 9, 1965, remaining on the chart for eight weeks and reaching number 4) and "She's Just My Style" (which entered the Billboard Top 40 on December 18, 1965, and rose to number 3).[31]
Hired by Snuff Garrett
Russell was hired by Snuff Garrett and together they formed a production company, Snuff Garrett Productions in 1964. Russell was a production assistant, arranger and creative developer for the company.[14] Russell played on many number-one singles, including "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys.[32] Russell also acted as Garrett's arranger and conductor of the Midnight String Quartet's debut album Rhapsodies For Young Lovers. The album was planned as a solo Leon Russell lp, but was instead marketed as a Midnight String Quartet production.[33]
Russell and Al Capps arranged Brian Hyland's 1966 single "The Joker Went Wild", written by Bobby Russell (no relation to Leon). Russell also played xylophone and bells on the record.[34] Jason Ankeny of AllMusic said "Russell's evocative arrangements lend 'The Joker Went Wild' much of its appeal, however, channeling the lessons of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson to create rich, bold pop far greater than the sum of its parts".[35] The track reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100.[36]
Two years later, Garrett and Russell started Viva Records. Russell was the record label's initial A&R representative as well as producer for many of the label's recordings, including The Shindogs' 1966 "Who Do You Think You Are / Yes, I’m Going Home" (Viva V-601). Viva Records also had a number of music publishing divisions.[37] In 1969, it was reported Russell had been the vice-president of Viva.[38]
Russell said the music he created while collaborating with Garrett motivated him to leave. "That wasn't my cup of tea... it wasn't the kind of thing I liked. I was anxious to not do that very much anymore, it just seemed too fluffy".[39]
The Shindogs
Russell was an arranger and songwriter as well as a piano and guitar player in The Shindogs, the house band on the ABC-TV dance show series Shindig! Fellow musicians Glen Campbell, Delaney Bramlett, and Billy Preston were among the Shindogs' alumni.[40]
Released first solo record
Russell released his first solo record, the single, "Everybody's Talking 'Bout the Young", for Dot Records in 1965.[41] Produced by Russell and Snuff Garrett, the folk-rock, anti-Vietnam war protest song was co-written by Russell, T. Lesslie (Snuff Garrett) and J. J. Cale.[42]
Skyhill Studios
In 1965 Russell built his first recording studio, Skyhill Studios inside his 2,900 sq. ft., 4 bedroom home at 7709 Skyhill Drive in the Hollywood Hills. Russell had seen and worked in similar home recording studios owned by Les Paul, Ernie Kovacs and others. He hired fellow Tulsan J.J. Cale as his in-home studio manager. Cale said "the neighbors thought the Hell’s Angels lived at Skyhill because of all the cars, motorcycles, and loud music at all hours of the day and night".[43] Russell and his friends referred to the studio as "the home for unwed musicians".[44]
Russell's recording studio home featured sound proofing, double walls and extensive wiring. Different rooms throughout the house were used to record various instruments, with a bathroom dedicated for use as an echo-chamber. The first recording session in the studio was an August 1965 Glen Campbell session. Russell’s Skyhill Studios was often used by up-and-coming artists to record demos to attract recording companies' attention.[43]
Hired by Lenny Waronker
Russell was hired as an arranger and producer in 1967 by Lenny Waronker, then a junior A&R representative for the Reprise and Warner Bros. record labels.[45] Russell's early work for Waronker included arranging and producing Harpers Bizarre's 1967 debut album Feelin' Groovy which featured a cover of "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)". Russell also played piano on the track.
Russell also co-produced and arranged recordings by Canadian folk-rock singer Tom Northcott, including a cover version of Donovan's "Sunny Goodge Street".[46][47]
The Asylum Choir
In 1968 Russell formed The Asylum Choir, a two-man group with Marc Benno. Benno, a Texan, sang and played guitar and bass. Russell sang and played guitar, piano, and drums. The duo had met in LA. Their twenty-six minute long LP Look Inside the Asylum Choir was released on Smash Records.[48][49]
Shelter Records
Russell and music producer Denny Cordell established Shelter Records in 1969. The company operated from 1969 to 1981, with offices in Los Angeles and Tulsa.[50][51] Shelter Records released "Duppy Conqueror", reggae artist Bob Marley's first American single.
In 1972, DC Comics sued the record label for copyright infringement. The Shelter Records logo included an upside down version of the well-known Superman logo. Shelter Records obscured the logo with an overstamped black rectangle in response to the lawsuit and later settlement. Later versions of the logo replaced the Superman artwork with a scrawled letter "S" inside an outline of an egg.[52]
Delaney & Bonnie
Russell performed as a member of Delaney & Bonnie and Friends in 1969 and 1970, playing guitar and keyboards on their albums and as part of the touring band. Through this group, he met George Harrison and others with whom he would work over the next couple of years.[53]
Joe Cocker! LP
Russell was the co-producer, arranger, a songwriter and performer on Joe Cocker’s 1969 LP Joe Cocker!
Russell wrote the song "Delta Lady" on the album.[24] The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200.[54]
In March 1970 Russell was hired by Joe Cocker to help quickly mount a concert band and rehearse a 48 date tour. Cocker said he had been told by United States immigration authorities he had to perform "right away" or lose his visa and be deported from the U.S. Rita Coolidge claimed the real reason was due to threats that Cocker would be physically harmed if he didn't comply with an order to tour.
Russell had only a week to locate, audition, hire and rehearse a 10-piece band and the Space Choir which would consist of 10 backup singers. Russell said Cocker, reportedly using copious illicit drugs at the time "was pretty wrecked when we started out". Asking Cocker "Does it sound good to you?" during an audition, Cocker said "It never sounds right to me".
"I didn’t know how to take that. So I said, 'Shit, I’ll just do whatever I want'".[55] Russell hired many of the musicians from Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett's band. He both conducted and performed in the tour, playing either piano or lead guitar.[56] Singer and former IketteClaudia Lennear, who performed during the tour, said Russell had the unique musical talent of being able to fuse together "white gospel and Black gospel".[57]
After watching the Mad Dogs & Englishmen concert film, Elton John said of Russell "There are some people who are born to be leaders of musicians and he is. It was Leon I was watching. He had the feel for that music. Joe was an amazing singer. But you could tell it was Leon's band".[58]
Russell purchased the top hat and Holy Trinity basketball jersey shirt he wore on the tour at a used clothing store near his Skyhill Studios in Los Angeles. He explained "I’m an actor - I was just trying to make a show".[59]
Leon Russell at home in his studio, October 1970, he became a solo recording artist that year
Russell explained how he wrote "A Song For You", saying "I was in my studio in Hollywood and actually I was trying to write a standard. I was trying to write a blues song that Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles both could sing... I wrote it in 10 minutes. It was for a specific occasion. And I went in there and wrote it very quickly... that happens sometimes. Sometimes they're very quick. It's almost as if one is not writing them, you know? Like they're coming from another place".[62]
Russell's "Delta Lady" was first released in 1969 on The Mad Dogs & Englishmen lp, performed by Joe Cocker. Cocker's version changes Russell's original lyric from "I’m over here in England" to "when I’m home again in England" as Cocker was British. Bobbie Gentry performed the song under the title "Delta Man" on her 1970 album Fancy.
1970s recordings and concerts
In 1970, Russell played piano on Dave Mason's album Alone Together, notably on the song "Sad and Deep as You".[66][67] The song "The Letter" performed by Joe Cocker with Leon Russell & the Shelter People peaked at #7 on the Hot 100 on May 30, 1970; this was Russell's first hit song.[68]
In November 1970, Russell performed at the Fillmore East, with Elton John on the same bill. Those performances have been bootlegged.[69] Russell and John appeared on The David Frost Show with Fillmore owner Bill Graham on December 3, 1970.[70][71] Russell's album Prince of Peace: Radio Broadcast 1970 is a soundboard recording of a concert at Fillmore East in late 1970.[72] Leon Russell and Friends recorded the Homewood Sessions, broadcast as an "unscripted and unrehearsed" one-hour TV special on KCET (Los Angeles) that aired in December 1970 and was later re-broadcast several times on the Public Broadcasting Service.[73]
Also in December 1970, Rolling Stone magazine carried an interview with Russell. It opened with a characterization of his sound as "those driving, lurchy, churchy rock and roll songs".[74] Russell produced some tracks for Bob Dylan in March 1971 when Dylan was experimenting with his new sound. The sessions produced the single "Watching the River Flow" and "When I Paint My Masterpiece", both of which prominently featured Russell's gospel-flavored piano.[12]
In 1971, Shelter Records released Leon Russell and the Shelter People and Asylum Choir II (co-produced by Marc Benno) and recorded at Russell's Skyhill Studios. Leon Russell and the Shelter People went on to be Russell's first U.S. gold album. In the same year, Russell played on recording sessions with B. B. King, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan.[12][79]
Russell
Russell helped the blues guitarist Freddie King revive his career by collaborating on three of King's albums for Shelter Records during the early 1970s. During those same years, Russell profited from what was then called the "country and western" market by recording and performing under the moniker Hank Wilson,[80] and was a regular performer at Gilley's Club, a honkytonk in Pasadena, Texas, made famous by the film Urban Cowboy.[81]
Russell recorded the song "Get a Line on You" at Olympic Studios in October 1969, with contributions from Mick Jagger (lead vocal), Ringo Starr (drums), and probably also Bill Wyman (bass) and Mick Taylor (guitar). It was shelved until 1993, when it was issued as a bonus track on the 24K gold re-release by DCC Compact Classics (DCC Compact Classics GZS 1049). The Rolling Stones included the song, under the title "Shine a Light" on their 1972 album Exile on Main St..[82]
In 1972, Russell did a concert tour with his Shelter People entourage. One performance was recorded in California at the Long Beach Arena on August 28, 1972,[83] and was released as a three-record set in 1973 as Leon Live. It became his third U.S. gold album. In November 1972, Billboard cited Russell as a top concert draw and reported the 1972 tour gross at almost $3 million.[84][85] Also in 1972, he released his Carney album, which was his third solo studio album. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. The album featured "Tight Rope" and "This Masquerade" (songs released on a 45 as the A side and B side respectively), and became his second gold album.[86]
Looking Back was released by Russell on Olympic Records in 1973, shortly after the success of his single "Tight Rope". It contains instrumental tracks recorded in the mid-1960s, featuring Russell playing the harpsichord.[87] In 1975 Russell released Live In Japan on Shelter Records. The album was recorded live at Budokan Hall, in Tokyo, on November 8, 1973.[88] Russell made it into the 1975 Top 40 with "Lady Blue", from his album Will o' the Wisp. It was his fourth gold album.[89]
Helen Reddy recorded Russell's song "Bluebird" as a single and on her 1975 album No Way to Treat a Lady.[90] The song debuted on the BillboardHot 100 in the July 5 issue of the magazine and eventually peaked at number 35.[91] That same issue also marked its debut on the magazine's Easy Listening chart, where it spent eight weeks and peaked at number 5;[92] on the RPM singles chart it reached number 51.[93] Reddy said, "I love Leon Russell's writing and I love this song. It was an integral part of my repertoire for nearly 30 years, and I never tired of singing it."[90]
This Masquerade
Russell's song "This Masquerade", the B-side of his 1972 hit single "Tight Rope", was later recorded by many artists, including Reddy and the Carpenters. George Benson's version of the song reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Record of the Year at the 1977 Grammy Awards.[94] As the songwriter, Russell was nominated for Song of the Year in 1977 but lost to Bruce Johnston, who wrote "I Write the Songs".[95] Russell's version of "This Masquerade" was used for the soundtrack for the psychological thriller film Bug, which was directed by William Friedkin. The Bug soundtrack was released on May 22, 2007. The song was also used in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness.[96][97]
A Star Is Born
In 1976, Russell and Barbra Streisand wrote the song "Lost Inside of You" for the film sound track of A Star Is Born. During a songwriting session at her house, Streisand began playing an original composition on her piano, and Russell was inspired to hum a countermelody which surprised and impressed Streisand. The interplay between the two songwriters was fictionalized for a scene in the film showing Streisand and Kris Kristofferson writing the song together.[98] The A Star Is Born soundtrack received a Grammy Nominations for Best Album of Original Score written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.[99]
In 1976, Russell released the Wedding Album, a studio album with his then wife, Mary Russell,[100] otherwise known as Mary McCreary. It was the first release by Paradise Records, and it was distributed by Rhino/Warner Bros. Records.[101] Leon and Mary were the album producers, except for the final track "Daylight", which was produced by its writer, Bobby Womack.[102]
Russell released Life And Love, an album on Paradise Records, in 1979. Life and Love has country, rock, and blues songs which hark back to Leon's work in the early 1970s.[110]
In 1972 after viewing Les Blank’s film, The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins, Russell and Cordell hired Blank to film a documentary of the activities at the Shelter Records studio in Russell's compound at the Grand Lake Of The Cherokees in Oklahoma. Blank shot film footage for two years. Russell didn't care for the finished film and during the breakup of Shelter Records, traded his forgiveness of some of Cordell's loans in exchange for full ownership of the film. Russell would not allow the finished film to be shown, saying "This film will never be seen in public".
40 years later, a Disney movie changed Russell's mind. He explained "After Les Blank died, his son, Harrod, came to see me, offering to recut the film and also digitize it to enhance the quality. Plus, I had recently seen a Disney movie, Saving Mister Banks. After watching that, I realized sometimes we just say no to be just saying no, and I realized I was being selfish about it". Harrod Blank re-mastered and released the film, editing out 14 minutes of the original film. Russell said to Harrod Blank "I don’t know how you did it but this is so much better than what I remembered".[115][116]
"Hank Wilson" persona
In 1973 Russell created the fictional musical personality "Hank Wilson", and recorded the album Hank Wilson's Back Vol. I at producer Owen Bradley's Bradley's Barn studio in Nashville. He said "'Hank Wilson' came about on a road trip. I was bringing a car back from L.A., and I stopped at a truck stop that had about 500 country tapes for sale. I bought a bunch and listened to them on the way home (to Tulsa). I don't really listen to records very much, except for research. I liked some of that stuff, though, and thought it would be fun to do a record like that".[22]
The album reached #28 on the Billboard chart in 1973. The first track, "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms", was a minor hit.[89][117][118] In 2010, a BBC review called Russell's album "one of the most joyful sidebars of his career... a deeply entertaining album that, like all great country, turns melancholy and gloom into melody and dancing".[119]
The Gap Band
Russell helped the Gap Band, a trio of Tulsa brothers,[120] kick off their chart success in 1974. The group went on to produce several funk-disco hits.[120] The Gap Band backed Russell on his album Stop All That Jazz.[121]
Helped develop Linn drum machines
As a teenager, Roger Linn played guitar in Russell's band. In 1977 Linn created the first programmable drum machine that used actual drum beat samples.[122] Russell suggested that Linn also add longer-length loops as well as sampled hand claps, explaining a recording session that included clapping quickly becomes a burden for performers during multiple takes. Russell used Linn's drum machine for all of the percussion on his Life And Love album.[123]
In 1984 Linn created the pressure sensitive Linn9000 drum machine and credited Russell with the inspiration to add "sloppy" or shuffle timing. Linn explained "It was Leon who taught me about swing timing, which he called 'shuffle'. He explained that one of the big factors in a drummer’s feel was the degree of shuffle timing in his playing... I added the code to delay — by a variable amount... This allowed me to dial in the exact groove I wanted".[124]
Paradise Records
Russell departed Shelter Records in 1976 to start his own record label, Paradise Records.[125]
Russell and Aretha Franklin were the singers on the ABC Television Network 1985-1986 Fall promotional campaign. The three and a half minute song "We Belong Together" was written by Brock Walsh. The commercial first aired on July 6, 1986.[127]
In 1982, Russell played piano and percussion on New Grass Revival's Commonwealth album.[130]
Continuing with a country theme he made a second Hank Wilson album, Hank Wilson, Vol. II released in 1984, Hank Wilson being Russell's self-styled country music alter-ego since the early 1970s. It was released on Leon Russell Records.[131] Russell released a country blues album, recorded in Hendersonville, Tennessee, at his Paradise Studios, called Solid State. It was released by Paradise Music in 1984.[132]
In 1985, Russell went on tour in the United States. [133] He also released the compilation album Best Of Leon Russell: A Song For You.[134] In 1988 and 1989 Edgar Winter and Russell went on a concert tour of the United States and Canada. Edgar Winter is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. In 2002 the DVD Edgar Winter – Live on Stage, Featuring Leon Russell was released.[135][136][137]
1990s - 2000s - recording and touring
Russell released Delta Lady on Del Rack Records in 1991. Many of the songs are remixes of early recordings.[138] Russell released a new album Anything Can Happen recorded at Paradise Studios, released on Virgin Records in 1991. Pianist Bruce Hornsby produced this comeback album. During the late 1980s and early 1990s Hornsby worked extensively as a producer and sideman with Russell.[139] In 1993, Paradise Records released the Leon Russell 24k Gold Disc album. It was a remix of recordings done at Olympic Sound in London in 1969.[140]
Russell started Leon Russell Records, an independent record label, in 1995.[141] Russell released his Hymns of Christmas album with ten instrumental hymns by Leon Russell Piano and Orchestra on Leon Russell Records in 1995.[142] Capitol/EMI Records in 1996 released the album Gimme Shelter! The Best of Leon Russell, a two-CD album set with 40 tracks covering 1969–1992.[143] Capitol/Right Stuff Records released in 1997 the album Retrospective, an album with Russell's 18 all-time best-selling songs.[144]
In 2000, Russell and Q Records released Live at Gilley's, a performance from September 17, 1981, at Gilley's Club.[149] Also in 2000, Leon Russell Records released the rock album Crazy Love on CD.[150] In 2001, Russell teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Matt Harris to make the latter's album Slightly Elliptical Orbit. They wrote 10 songs for the 12 track album, and Russell sang on the "This Train" track. The album was released in 2002 on Leon Russell Records.[151]
Signature Songs was released in 2001 on Leon Russell Records. It has Russell playing his top songs from his career. It was re-released in 2007 by MRI Associated Labels.[152] Russell returned as Hank Wilson, but this time with a twist of bluegrass, in Rhythm & Bluegrass: Hank Wilson, Vol. 4, released in 2001 on Leon Russell Records. The songs are with New Grass Revival from the 1980s.[153]
In 2002, Russell released a 95-minute DVD titled A Song for You, that features 25 Russell classic songs from the Shelter People to 2001. There is biographical commentary throughout the DVD. The video is of both concerts and studio sessions.[155] The DVD album Live And Pickling Fast was released in the same year. This was a new album of the live Perkins Palace event on May 15, 1980. It had all the original songs from The Live Album (with New Grass Revival), plus all the other songs from the event and bonus tracks.[156][157] In 2006, Russell did a 12 city concert tour of the United States. On April 23, he received the Living Legend award at Bare Bones International Film Festival[158] and in October he was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.[159]
Also in 2006, Russell released the Okie rock album Angel in Disguise on his Leon Russell Records label.[160]Bad Country released on Leon Russell Records in 2007, with 12 original songs by Russell.[161] Russell played at Diversafest, Tulsa's music conference and festival, in 2007.[citation needed]
Almost Piano was released in 2007 by Leon Russell Records. It is a synthesizer piano collection of ten instrumentals from Russell.[162]In Your Dreams was released on CD by Leon Russell Records in 2008,[163] as was A Mighty Flood, a gospel album with original songs by him. Billboard magazine described the latter as "a recent treat" and "buoyant".[164]
2010s - Sixth Gold album, failing health
On January 31, 2010, Russell joined the Zac Brown Band to play the song "Chicken Fried" at the Grammy Awards. Zac Brown Band won the Best New Artist award.[165] After years of reduced prominence, Russell's career was rejuvenated when Elton John sought him for a new project.[166] In November 2009, Russell worked with John and Bernie Taupin on The Union, a double album record credited equally to Russell and John. Recorded in February 2010 and produced by T Bone Burnett,[167] the CD was released on October 19, 2010.
I wanted to give Elton something. But what do you give a guy who has six fully stocked houses? So I thought the only thing I could give him is a song. "In the Hands of Angels," retelling of the story of the album [The Union], thanks Mr. John ("the guv'ner" in the lyrics), who knew all the places I needed to go and made me feel the love down deep inside.
The Union was Russell's sixth gold album.[169] The recordings were interrupted in January 2010 when Russell was hospitalized and underwent surgery for a brain fluid leak, as well as treatment for heart failure and pneumonia.[168] A couple of months later, Russell announced plans for a solo LP, although no specifics were given, and in October 2010 Russell and John embarked on The Union Tour. John and Russell also appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman.[170]
Russell and John were nominated for their track “If It Wasn't for Bad", from their The Union album, for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 2010 Grammy Awards,[106] which were presented on February 13, 2011. In 2011, the documentary film The Union by Cameron Crowe was released. It explored the creative process of John and Russell in the making of the 2010 album The Union.[171][172] On April 2, 2011, Russell and John performed together as the musical guests on Saturday Night Live. Rolling Stone placed the album in third place on its list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010.[173]
Russell telling a story between songs, performing in Albany, New York, February 2016
In 2014, the album Life Journey was released on Universal Records. Working with Tommy LiPuma, this album included two new songs by Russell: "Big Lips" and "Down in Dixieland".[177]
Russell had a nationwide concert tour in 2016[183] and was planning to tour into 2017.[184] The album On a Distant Shore, recorded in 2016, was posthumously released in September 2017. The album has 12 songs written by Russell. Two of his daughters, Coco Bridges and Sugaree Noel Bridges, perform backing vocals on it.[185]
Failing health, death
In 2010 Russell had surgery for a brain fluid leak and was treated for heart failure. In July 2016, he had suffered a heart attack and underwent heart bypass surgery. He died in his sleep at his Mount Juliet, Tennessee home on November 13, 2016, at the age of 74.[186]
Russell's funeral was on November 18 at Victory Baptist Church in Mt. Juliet,[187] and a public memorial was held at The Oral Roberts UniversityMabee Center on November 20 in Tulsa.[188] His body is interred at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa.
Musical influence
I first saw Leon Russell in 1971 or 1972. Then, as now, Leon made everything happen when he took the stage. For heaven's sake, his rock and roll credits could fill up a big inscribed monolith, if they still made such things.
Elton John, who had once been Russell's opening act, acknowledged him as his "biggest influence as a piano player, a singer and a songwriter."[190] After hearing of Russell's death he said: "My darling Leon Russell passed away last night. He was a mentor, inspiration and so kind to me. I loved him and always will."[191] John once recalled:
When Mr. Russell's "Greatest Hits" album came on one day during the trip, I started to cry, it moved me so much. His music takes me back to the most wonderful time in my life, and it makes me so angry that he's been forgotten.[168]
Pixies vocalist Black Francis credits Russell with influencing his vocal style: "I realise there's a certain kind of vocalising I do that takes its cue from Leon Russell. He sang in a Southern accent but it was very blown-out and exaggerated, very free and loose."[192] One of Russell's titles and signature nicknames is "Master of Space and Time".[193]
The depth and scope of Russell's contribution to the music of the twentieth century is illustrated by:
408 albums on which he received a credit
251 total artistic credits
37 types of artistic credit
Piano – 77 credits
Arranger – 23
Keyboards – 20
Guitar – 17
Organ – 14
Electric piano – 11
Guest – 11
Vocals – 11
Bass – 10
Miscellaneous – 58 (includes percussion, trumpet, moog, clavinet and 23 more types)
282 total writing credits
Five types of writing credit
Songwriter – 161 credits
Writer – 87
Composer – 20
Music – 8
Lyrics – 6
45 production credits
Personal life
Russell had six children: a daughter from a relationship with Carla McHenry; a son and daughter from his first marriage to Mary McCreary; and three daughters from his later marriage to Janet Lee Constantine.[194]
The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry.[195]
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