Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and roll, country, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, southern rock, blues rock, folk, surf and the Tulsa sound. His recordings earned six gold records and he received two Grammy Awards from seven nominations. In 1973 Billboard named Russell the "Top Concert Attraction in the World". In 2011, he was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Russell collaborated with many notable artists and recorded 33 albums and 430 songs. 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.
As a session pianist with The Wrecking Crew, Russell played in his early years on albums by the Beach Boys, the Ventures, Dick Dale, and Jan and Dean. On his first album, Leon Russell, in 1970, the musicians included Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. One of his early fans, Elton John, said that Russell was a "mentor" and an "inspiration". They recorded their album The Union in 2010, earning them a Grammy nomination.
Russell produced and played in recording sessions for Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Ike & Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones, and many other artists. He wrote and recorded the hits "Tight Rope" and "Lady Blue". He performed at The Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, along with Harrison, Dylan, and Clapton; for this, he earned a Grammy Award.
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. Russell's mother said that he started talking later than most children. She said while he was "watching the birds, and something was going on with the birds," his first words were "What's the matter, little birdie — you cry?" His mother said she was "shocked, because he never spoke".
Russell said he "was born with 'spastic paralysis,' now called cerebral palsy". An injury at birth 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 which caused Russell to favor his left hand and develop his signature left-hand-dominant piano playing style. 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." He said that the condition helped him become "very aware of the duality involved in our plane of existence here". He also had a limp caused by the same condition that was once thought to be due to polio. Russell 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."
Both of Russell's parents played upright piano, and when he was four years old his 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, Oklahoma, a 38-mile (61 km) trip each way. While still taking piano lessons, Russell learned the alto saxophone and cornet in his elementary school band. He then learned to play the baritone horn. After impressing the high school band director in Maysville, Russell was invited to join the high school marching band while in the fifth grade. 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."
Russell attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His classmates included Elvin Bishop, Gailard Sartain, Anita Bryant, and David Gates. Russell's 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 and 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". Russell collaborated later with Gates after high school in the band the Fencemen. Russell credited his awareness of the precursors of American soul music to a homemade AM crystal radio. 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."
Performing while underage in clubs and bars, Russell assumed the name "Leon Russell" from a fake ID 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.
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 that 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". Russell also backed groups in Tulsa including Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, often until early morning, after having worked through the night. 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."
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." Settling in Los Angeles, he studied guitar with James Burton.
Russell was primarily a session musician in his early career. During session work he played for and with artists as varied as Jan and Dean, Ricky Nelson, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, George Harrison, Delaney Bramlett, Freddy Cannon, Ringo Starr, Doris Day, Elton John, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, the Byrds, Barbra Streisand, the Beach Boys, the Ventures, Willie Nelson, Badfinger, the Tijuana Brass, Frank Sinatra, the Band, Bob Dylan, J. J. Cale, B.B. King, Dave Mason, Glen Campbell, Lynn Anderson, Joe Cocker, the Rolling Stones, and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
As Russell developed his solo artist career, he crossed genres to include rock and roll, blues, bluegrass, and gospel music.
1960s - Session musician, solo artist, and record executive
In Los Angeles, Russell played as a studio musician on many of the popular songs of the 1960s, including the Byrds, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Bobby Pickett, and Herb Alpert. He played piano on Phil Spector productions including recordings by the Ronettes, the Crystals, and Darlene Love and in the 1963 A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector album.
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." 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."