Billy Preston - "Nothing From Nothing" (video, lyrics, & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases the 1974 hit song "Nothing From Nothing" by Billy Preston.

Here's information about Billy Preston from his Wikepedia page:
"William Everett "Billy" Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American musician whose work included R&B, rock, soul, funk and gospel. Preston became famous first as a session musician with artists including Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and the Beatles, and was later successful as a solo artist with hit pop singles including "Outa-Space", its sequel, "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from Nothing", and a string of albums and guest appearances with Eric Clapton, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others. In addition, Preston was co-author, with The Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson, of "You Are So Beautiful," recorded by Preston and later a #5 hit for Joe Cocker.

Alongside Tony Sheridan, Billy Preston was the only other musician to be credited on a Beatles recording: the artists on the number-one hit "Get Back" are given as "The Beatles with Billy Preston". Stephen Stills asked Preston if he could use Preston's phrase "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with" and created the hit song"....
-snip-
Click this link to his official website for more information about Billy Preston:
http://www.billypreston.net/, and

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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LYRICS; NOTHING FROM NOTHING
(Songwriters: Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher)

Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me

I'm not tryna be your hero
'Cause that zero is too cold for me, brrr
I'm not tryin' to be your highness
'Cause that minus is too low to see, yeah

Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
And I'm not stuffin', believe you me
Don't you remember I told ya
I'm a soldier in the war on poverty, yeah, yes, I am

Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me, oh baby
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me, that's right, ha yea

Gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me
You gotta bring me somethin' girl, if you wanna be with me

http://www.metrolyrics.com/nothing-from-nothing-lyrics-billy-preston.html

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FEATURED EXAMPLES

Example #1: NOTHING FROM NOTHING / BILLY PRESTON [Sound file]



sunnychopper82 Uploaded on Apr 3, 2008

Nothing From Nothing - Billy Preston
from his album "THE KIDS & ME" in 1974

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Example #2: Billy Preston - Nothing From Nothing



OpDePlanken , Uploaded on Oct 5, 2008

Live On Stage

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SELECTED COMMENTS From Example #1 YouTube viewer comment thread: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ5-BTdcqjk
[Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes]

2010

1. muzaq27
"BILLY PRESTON!!!! A GREAT MUSICIAN/VOCALIST/SONG WRITER!!!!ONE OF AMERICA'S FINEST.....HE IS MISSED!!!!!"

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2. CJSmith943
"This song is so true its like all the old school songs have more meaning than today's music!"

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2011

3. TheOtherFifthBeatle
He was way too underappreciated in his lifetime.

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4. cb4077
"nothing from nothing leavvvveeess nothing."

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5. BalooRJ
"Love this song. A timeless classic."

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6. grimmpoxer
"World class musicianship meets great vibe meets fun. Music doesn't get any better than this."

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2011

7. everybodytogethernow
"that piano solo...gold, pure gold.

RIP billy P you live on in great music"

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2012

8. KarmalBeauty
"Absolutely BEAUTIFUL SONG! Sang it Billy!!! LOL"

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9. Steven A
"such a talented man miss you Billy thanks for some of the best music ever made makes ya wanna just get outta your chair and foot stomp all nite long"

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10. LeOnIdAs162
"What's the name of this music style ? Soul ?"

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11. Ariana A
in reply to LeOnIdAs162
"@LeOnIdAs162 according to iTunes billy preston is classified as R&B/Soul... personally I see HUGE elements of funk here, but preston's good enough to span several genres... in the end, classify him however you want to!"

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12. JMoNticello86
"That fro is sick"

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13. shuree681
in reply to JMoNticello86
"@JMoNticello86 If you were in that era, you wouldn't have said his fro is sick,,,that was rude,,,,"

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14. tomb833
in reply to shuree681
"@shuree681 thats not what he means.. Sick is a synonym for awesome
/cool"

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15. ericsyutubeaccount
in reply to shuree681
"@shuree681 sick means good"

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16. LeftHandSouth24
"OMG MAN THE PIANO ON THE INTRO IS TAKIN ME ALL THE WAY IN!!! LOL..I THINK IMMA PLAY THIS AT CHURCH ON SUNDAY.."

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17. funkyswede62
"I am really big fan of Billy, and this tune was one of my first r&b/soul tracks that I took to my heart. For all you other people commenting, please leave the politics out of the music, will ya? We're here to enjoy good music by great people who made a difference and for them we are here!"

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18. fluffer1987
"Life is tough nowadays, but listening to this song brings me up. Thanks, Billy."

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2013
19. George Kiriyama
"MUSIC REWIND 1974:

He was known as the "5th Beatle". Five years after BILLY PRESTON worked with the Beatles on "Get Back", the R&B/rock keyboardist scored his second #1 hit with "Nothing from Nothing".

PRESTON was the first musical guest on Saturday Night Live in 1975 and he performed "Nothing from Nothing".

Album: The Kids and Me"

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20. b1uezer
"Seriously, the trumpets are so brilliant, this entire song is fantastic."

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SELECTED COMMENTS From Example #2 YouTube viewer comment thread: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj5DccgBYeM
[Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes]

2008

1. Ramona817
"Brilliant musician, singer, performer.. I am forever in awe of Billy Preston."

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2009

2. happygamer91
"That is one of the best bass breakdowns I have ever heard!"

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3. asonjack
"one of the greatest hammon b3 players ever"

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4. derrickbanes
"you hear his gospel background when you listen to him talk. (for those of you who know about that traditional baptist church). cool"

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2010

5. auggiedoggy
He was just 59 when he died. :o( What a performer!!!

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6. YaBoyMacD3 years ago
the funk and soul just flows through

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7. voyage54
"Brilliant lyrics too. Simple & deep."

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8. Streamline0
"I think this song and "Will it Go 'Round in Circles" have grooves that probably influenced Stevie's "Sir Duke" and "I Wish". Thanks."

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9. bluemist3
Oh man, I love you! You make me happy even when I am sad. I hope there is an afterlife, because I would like to meet you one day

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10. bossgangsta1
"nothing from nothingggggggggggggggggggg i love billy!"

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2012

11. Max Lee
"This is my favorite song of all time. Why isn't billy preston in the rock and roll hall of fame yet?"

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12. ultrastark1
"SOMEHOW OR OTHER I FORGOT ABOUT THIS GREAT MUSICAN, PERFORMER, VOCALIST Mr. Billy Preston....thank u youtube...and shame on me for forgetting"

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13. R. R. Rubin
"This was the best performance by any band anywhere in the world for the year 1981. You can Wiki that"

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14. Laurie Schmeer
"He was a legend in his own time. All his music is timeless!!! Boy it so fits in with the times right now!!!"

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2013

15. Eric Elliott
"Great pianos and horns in this track -- they don't make them like this anymore. Billy Preston knows what's up."

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Thank you Billy Preston for your musical legacy.

Thanks also to Bruce Fisher for co-writing this song, thanks to the other musicians featured in these examples, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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