Claude Russell Bridges (born April 2, 1942), known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music.[1]

Leon Russell

Born in Lawton, Oklahoma, Russell attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At this time he was already performing at Tulsa nightclubs.[2] He became a session musician, becoming a keyboardist who has worked with many notable musicians since the 1960s. By the late 1960s, Russell diversified, first to writing songs, and then working his way from gigs as a sideman to joining bands as a full member. Eventually, he began solo recording, although he never ended all his previous roles within the music industry. Russell is among the 2011 inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Career

Known first mostly as a session musician, Russell has played with artists as varied as Jerry Lee Lewis, George Harrison, Delaney Bramlett, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Eric Clapton, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, Badfinger, Tijuana Brass, Frank Sinatra, The Band, Glen Campbell, Clayton 'Red' White, and The Rolling Stones.[4] With a solo career involving the genres of rock and roll, blues, and gospel music, Russell began his musical career at the age of 14 years in the nightclubs of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He and his group "The Starlighters", which included J.J. Cale, Chuck Blackwell and Johnny Williams,[5] were instrumental in creating the style of music known as the Tulsa Sound. After settling in Los Angeles, California, he studied guitar with James Burton, and worked sessions with Dorsey Burnette and Glen Campbell.

Leon Russell

Becoming a part of Phil Spector's studio group, Russell played backup for many of the most popular successes of the 1960s, including songs by The Byrds, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Bobby "Boris" Pickett, and Herb Alpert. He can be seen in 1964's "The T.A.M.I. Show", playing piano with the Wrecking Crew (the Spector studio band), sporting short, dark, slicked-back hair, in contrast to his later look. [4] He also served as Snuff Garrett's assistant for numerous productions. For example, he played the xylophone/bells on the Bobby Russell (no relation to Leon Russell) penned song "The Joker Went Wild" which was sung by Brian Hyland, in 1966. Russell had his own recording studio built during 1967 and, in a collaboration with Marc Benno, recorded his first LP (Look Inside the Asylum Choir).