The new documentary Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It provides insights into an artist both criminally underestimated and misunderstood. Despite chart hits, and an absolutely extraordinary discography, it has always felt like Billy Preston's musical career was, at the very least, not well documented beyond his work with The Beatles. Further, the complications of Billy Preston as a man have been previously underexplored too. This most talented of men had secrets, and some very bad years later in life, but his love of music, and his talent were undeniable. What comes through most in Paris Barclay's fine documentary is just how much Billy loved playing, and just how profoundly lonely he was as a closeted gay man in an era where it wouldn't have been easy for him to come out.
As the documentary explains, it was also Billy's youth in the black church which contributed to his hesitancy in being himself in terms of his sexuality, wrestling with his religion as he grew older. That constant fear of being found out weighed on the man, enough so that drugs and criminality entered his life later. His demons didn't prevent Preston's brief final comeback before his death, and that is a story which is marvelously told in Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It.
The movie is neatly divided between a first half which provides the history of Billy Preston as a musician, and a second half which looks at his personal life and troubles at a later age, after the hits dried up. Working with the famed Crouch family, his career in gospel music started when he was barely a teenager. His friendship and work with Ray Charles pushed him into the spotlight further. Clips of Billy dancing on a TV show while Ray plays piano provide evidence of Preston's extraordinary gifts as an all-around entertainer, and show just how joyous was this man whose playing brought so much joy to others. Whatever face Billy presented to the public may have been at odds with his own personal troubles, and that schism only grew later in life.
Still, the first section of Billy Preston: That's How God Planned It is thrilling, tracing Billy's career up to his close partnership with The Beatles -- he was dubbed the Fifth Beatle, after all -- and on to his work with Barbara Streisand, Ray Charles, Sly Stone, and as a touring member of the Rolling Stones. The creation of his own solo hits -- "Nothing from Nothing", "Will It Go Round in Cirlces?", etc. -- is covered, as is the writing of songs which became hits for others ("You are So Beautiful", and so on). That picture we have of Billy Preston from the first half of the film is one side of the man, a man whose complications and internal struggles would nearly ruin his life in the Eighties and Nineties.
It would be fair criticism to say that Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It leans hard on Billy's internal struggles as the cause for the struggles in his life later on. Was his drug addiction and criminal behavior the result of his inner turmoil? The film doesn't quite make the case for Preston being a tortured artist, but it does provide evidence that those inner battles with himself are what created so many problems for Preston late in life, or -- at a minimum -- how his wrestling with his own contradictions created tension which spilled over into addiction. And while the documentary follows a familiar redemption arc, there is enough detail presented in the first hour of the film to make this documentary a success for anyone wanting just a history of William Preston the musician
There's a real journey in Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It which is very compelling. The Billy Preston we see here in clips doesn't seem like the type of man who may have wanted to share more of his intimate details; he let his art convey what he wanted to express. His music was direct and invigorating while his personal life was complicated. And yet we can imagine that such a big-hearted man would undoubtedly have been pleased with how much joy comes through the screen in this superb Paris Barclay-directed documentary. The pleasure of his music, and the life in his performances is what we take away from the film. Essential viewing for music fans.
The new documentary Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It arrives in more theaters this weekend. In the D.C. area it is playing at Cinema Arts in Fairfax, and AFI Silver in Silver Spring.