Billy Preston, R. I. P.

'Fifth Beatle' Billy Preston dies at 59: "Washington - Grammy-winner Billy Preston, often described as the fifth Beatle for his work as a keyboardist with the group, died Tuesday at age 59 in Scottsdale, Arizona, media reports said. Preston collaborated with the Liverpool rockers on the albums Let it Be, Abbey Road and the White Album, but also worked with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Ray Charles and Bob Dylan, to name a few. He was signed by Apple records in the 1960s and followed up his collaborations with a string of solo hits, including the Grammy- winning Outta Space, as well as Will It Go Round In Circles, Nothing From Nothing and Space Race. Preston died in a hospital in Scottsdale after falling into a coma on November 21, from which he would never emerge, after medical complications that included kidney failure."