Leon Russell

Leon Russell earned renown as rock and roll’s premier session musician, his lengthy and eventful path marked by work alongside an expansive roster of music legends that stretched from Jerry Lee Lewis to Phil Spector and onward to the Rolling Stones. A parallel range and reach characterized his own recordings, which framed his distinctive gravelly delivery inside a roots-rich swamp-pop synthesis of country, blues, and gospel. Born Claude Russell Bridges on April 2, 1942, in Lawton, Oklahoma, he started classical piano instruction at age three; ten years afterward he added the trumpet and launched his first band. At 14 he falsified his age to obtain a job at a Tulsa nightclub, backing Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks before touring with Jerry Lee Lewis. Two years later he relocated to Los Angeles, where he studied guitar with the renowned James Burton and contributed to sessions for Dorsey Burnette and Glen Campbell. As part of Phil Spector’s celebrated studio collective, Russell performed on numerous landmark pop singles of the 1960s and arranged such classics as Ike & Tina Turner’s monumental “River Deep, Mountain High”; additional hits that carried his touch include the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ “This Diamond Ring,” and Herb Alpert’s “A Taste of Honey.”

During 1967 Russell constructed his personal studio and joined guitarist Marc Benno to cut the well-received Look Inside the Asylum Choir album. While on the road with Delaney & Bonnie he achieved his first songwriting success via Joe Cocker’s version of “Delta Lady,” and in 1970, after establishing Shelter Records, he also assembled Cocker’s historic Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour. The subsequent concert film brought Russell his initial widespread recognition; he then released a self-titled solo album and, in 1971, joined George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh after appearing on dates with B.B. King, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan. Following tours alongside the Rolling Stones, Russell devoted increasing attention to his solo output, reaching number two with 1972’s Carney and notching his first pop hit via the single “Tight Rope.” Although the three-LP concert set Leon Live from 1973 further cemented his stature as a major live attraction, the country-flavored Hank Wilson’s Back met with far cooler response, as did 1974’s Stop All That Jazz. Commercial fortunes rebounded with the 1975 album Will O’ the Wisp, due largely to the appealing single “Lady Blue.”

In June 1975 Russell wed singer Mary McCreary; the following year the pair issued The Wedding Album on his newly launched Paradise Records imprint. Also in 1976, George Benson received a Grammy Award for the Russell composition “This Masquerade.” Russell and McCreary reconvened for 1977’s Make Love to the Music, and after finishing the solo Americana he partnered with Willie Nelson on 1979’s Willie & Leon. He subsequently spent two years touring with the bluegrass ensemble the New Grass Revival, releasing a live album in 1981; although Paradise closed later that year, the label reopened for 1984’s Hank Wilson, Vol. 2 and Solid State. Russell largely withdrew from music for the remainder of the decade, resurfacing only with the 1992 Bruce Hornsby-produced Anything Can Happen. That release attracted modest notice, and another extended stretch of limited activity preceded the 1998 appearance of Hank Wilson, Vol. 3: Legend in My Time. Face in the Crowd followed a year later. Entering the new millennium, Russell delivered the covers collection Moonlight & Love Songs in 2002 and Angel in Disguise in 2007. Three further albums—Almost Piano, Bad Country, and In Your Dreams—appeared in 2008.

Russell’s extended absence from the spotlight concluded in 2010 when longtime admirer Elton John reached out to record a duet project. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, The Union earned strong reviews and sales, instantly restoring Russell’s visibility. After a joint tour with John, Russell resumed solo road work and eventually completed the comeback album Life Journey, issued in April 2014. His health, however, had deteriorated, and he passed away in his sleep at his Nashville residence on November 13, 2016. Before his death he finished a set of new recordings with producer Mark Lambert; those sessions surfaced as On a Distant Shore in September 2017.