a better obit:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2006/06/06/entertainment/e103723D91.DTL
That is a *much* better obit. I knew most of that stuff, even the first SNL guest bit, but not about him being on
Blood on the Tracks, which considering it's one of my favorite albums is a pretty big oversight on my part.
I also didn't know about him being in the W.C. Handy biopic
St. Louis Blues, wherein he plays Handy as a child (Preston was 12 at the time). I've always meant to see that, not only because I'm from there, but for the past 20+ years my folks have lived in W.C. Handy's old neighborhood. In fact my dad has done a bit of research on him & was the driving force in getting the neighborhood 'officially recognized' by the city & he was the one who proposed naming it Handy-Greer. Check out the film credits:
Nat 'King' Cole .... W.C. Handy
Eartha Kitt .... Gogo Germaine
Cab Calloway .... Blade
Ella Fitzgerald .... Singer
Mahalia Jackson .... Bessie May
Ruby Dee .... Elizabeth
Juano Hernandez .... Rev. Charles Handy
Billy Preston .... Will Handy as a boy
Pearl Bailey .... Aunt Hagar