He began taking piano lessons at the age of four, and by the time he was 14 he was playing in nightclubs around his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He came to the world as Claude Russell Bridges, but is known to the world as Leon Russell – which was the name on the fake ID card he used in order to play in nightclubs. By the the time he was 17 he was already in Los Angeles working as a session musician, a member of the legendary Wrecking Crew, which was a core group of the best players on the LA session scene.
He played on an astounding number of hits with a wide array of artists from nearly every commercial genre – from the Beach Boys to Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin. He was also a regular on the Shindig TV show which I mentioned in my previous post.
Leon Russell- performing “Roll over Bethoveen” on Shindig – November 1964, age 22
Five years and a couple of months later (1970), the prematurely gray 28 year old Leon Russel was sporting his signature lion's mane head of hair. By this time he was a highly influential presence in rock music... more on that in later posts. In the hippie era there was something called a “Happening” and the Los Angeles public (non-commercial) television station filmed such a happening with Leon Russell and friends in a recording studio (Homewood Sessions.) An edited one hour version was broadcast on public television.
Here from that happening, is a lesser known song I like very much called “My Sweet Emily” written by Leon about his lady friend, whom you will see baking and dancing around during the song.
If you'd like to get an impression of the famous hippie vibe of the late 60s & early 70s, here is a treat for you, the entire broadcast of the Homewood Sessions.
Hope you enjoy it, there's so much more to come about Leon Russell, but I'm purposefully keeping it short for busy Steemers.
Photo collage: Leon Russell wiki commons photo placed on a billboard of Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood in the 1970s -- effects by
