BILLY PRESTON – THAT’S THE WAY GOD PLANNED IT (2024)

Featuring Pastor Sandra Crouch, Derrick Preston, Gloria Jones, Blinky Williams, Valerie Ervin, Cory Henry, Billy Porter, Eric Clapton, David Ritz, Tony Jones, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, Bob Ellis, Merry Clayton, Glyn Johns, Tommy Vicari, Manuel Kellough, Bobby Watson, Bruce Fisher, Mick Jagger, Keni Burke, Bob Margouleff, Don Mizell, Suzanne de Passe, Hon. Bernard J. Kamins, Sam Moore, Joyce Moore, Bill Maxwell and archival footage of Billy Preston, Ray Charles, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Robbie Preston Williams.

Written by Paris Barclay & Cheo Hodari Coker.

Directed by Paris Barclay.

Distributed by Abramorama Films. 104 minutes. Not Rated.

Billy Preston was many things in his career. He was arguably the greatest funk organist ever. He was a musical prodigy who was touring and recording before he reached his teenaged years. He was a favorite side person who played with some of the biggest names of the 1960s and 1970s – including Little Richard, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Sly Stone and the Rolling Stones.

He was one of the very few non-band members to ever play on a Beatles album. He first met the band in their Hamburg days as a child when he was touring Europe with Little Richard and stayed in touch for years. He became close friends with George Harrison, was one of the first artists signed to Apple Records. His organ parts in “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Get Back” defined those tracks. He even played with the band in their famous rooftop Abbey Road performance. In fact, he has as strong a claim for the term “the fifth Beatle” as just about anyone, as noted on a newspaper clip shown briefly here, which had the headline “The Fifth Beatle Is a Brother.”

As a songwriter, he created Joe Cocker’s iconic hit “You Are So Beautiful.” He was the frontman behind several big hit solo singles, including “Outa-Space,” “Will It Go ‘Round in Circles,” “Nothing From Nothing” and “With You I’m Born Again.” He was one of the two musical guests on the first ever episode of Saturday Night Live. (Ironically, the other musical guest was Janis Ian, who is also the subject of a recent documentary reminding the world of their artistry.)

Yet, for all of his proximity to stars and stardom, he was also an exceedingly private man. No matter how flamboyant a showman he was – and he could seriously jam – in other ways the guy was very uncomfortable with recognition. Hell, it turns out here that his infamous sky-high Afro from his glory days was just a wig (who knew?) – a disguise so that he would be easily recognizable onstage and then just blend into the background in real life with his real hairdo.

This is just one of the disguises that Preston wore over the years. An extremely closeted gay man, it was probably well-understood by friends and co-workers, but he never admitted his sexuality. In fact, he never officially came out to anyone publicly until days before his death. Not just in those ways, but Preston was always a bit of a cypher to people who knew and loved him. He refused to discuss his past, declining to discuss his religion (he grew up in the church), his addictions (to alcohol and drugs), his money issues.

Now, nearly 20 years after his way-too-early death (at 59 of respiratory failure), Preston’s contributions to music are not nearly as well-remembered as contemporaries such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Issac Hayes or Lionel Richie.

Which is a shame, because as Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It reminds us, Preston was an extraordinary musician and singer who deserves so much more credit for his skills and his career than he has received.

The film is subtitled after the song, which was his first international hit single, which Preston also famously performed on George Harrison’s The Concert For Bangladesh album. In fact, this film opens with Preston’s performance of the song at that concert, in which the keyboardist shined, strutted and blew away an all-star jam band sharing the stage with him, including George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell and the band Badfinger.

This film shows the rise and the fall of Billy Preston, which reaches some of the highest highs, but also hits some of the lowest lows. Later in his life, Preston dealt with violence, time in jail, alcoholism, addiction to cocaine and crack, and personal bankruptcy.

This documentary has some amazing footage – from the highs of a twelve-year-old Preston performing his self-written instrumental “Billy’s Boogie“ on The Nat “King” Cole Show to the lows of a clearly drunk Preston getting called out for his inebriation by Howard Stern on his show.

Yet, as much as you do learn from That’s the Way God Planned It, Preston does remain an elusive figure, a sheltered man who held his secrets close to the vest. And do you know what? That’s fine. Preston deserves this private life and while much of that stuff was fascinating and disturbing, the real job of this film was to resurrect his reputation as a pioneering and magnetic musician, and in that way, the documentary is a complete success. Now, that’s the way God planned it.  

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2026 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: February 20, 2026.