His is a career that isn't documented quite like that of superstars.
But Leon Russell has had a career that was acknowledged in 2011 by the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame inducting him. Not bad for a guy with two career Top 40 hits of his own.
Then again, the man born Claude Russell Bridges in Lawton, Okla., on April 2, 1942, is more than those two Top 40 hits, right from the moment he was a youngster playing music in his teens in the 1950s. At Will Rogers High School in Tulsa where he attended classes, one of his older classmates at the school was David Gates. Another student who was there for a short time at the school was future blues legend Elvin Bishop.
It was those three who helped to establish what would be the "Tulsa Sound." By the time he was 16 years old, Russell was playing in a group called the Starlighters, which also included a future star blues guitarist-singer named J.J. Cale. It was about that time that young Claude thought it'd be a great idea to see what he could do beyond the Tulsa area, so at 16 years old, he packed up and left for Los Angeles to hit it big.
But to hit it big, Russell was going to have to cut his teeth in studios around Los Angeles, showcasing his talents as a guitarist and pianist. Working under rock-a-billy guitar master and future Rock 'N Roll Hall of Famer James Burton when he came out to Los Angeles, Russell played on various sessions that involved pop music, rock music, blues and even gospel. Some of the acts he played alongside included Jan & Dean, Gary Lewis, Doris Day, The Byrds, The Ventures, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra and The Band.
Within time, Russell became the "go-to" guy around Los Angeles and he was making a modest living helping others have hits before one day he could have a hit of his own. In 1964, he was a member of the television show The T.A.M.I. Show alongside artists like Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye, Larry Knechtel, Tommy Tedesco and Glen Campbell, artists that would famously become known as "The Wrecking Crew," the famed Los Angeles-based group of reliable and talented studio musicians.
Record producer Snuff Garrett hired Russell to be his assistant and creative developer. For Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Russell played piano and arranged their lone No. 1 hit, "This Diamond Ring," while co-writing "Everybody Loves A Clown" and "She's Just My Style," a pair of Top 5 hits for the band led by entertainer Jerry Lewis' son. On singer Brian Hyland's 1966 Top 40 hit, "The Joker Went Wild," he played xylophone. He also was a session musician for Dorsey Burnett and played alongside other Wrecking Crew members as pianist on Campbell's 1967 breakthrough album "Gentle On My Mind," credited under the name Russell Bridges.
In 1965, Russell released his first single, "Everybody's Talking 'Bout The Young" with Garrett producing, but nothing came of it. Three years later, Russell and fellow studio musicians, including 21-year-old Marc Benno, recorded an album under the name Asylum Choir called "Look Inside The Asylum Choir." Russell and Benno produced the album, and though it barely missed hitting the Top 200 album chart, it was still confidence enough for Russell to start a new record label a year label that he'd call Shelter Records with British music producer Denny Cordell. He established studios in both Los Angeles and in his native Tulsa, giving him a pipeline to the people who, like him, were wanting to make it in the music business and needed an avenue to get there.
While he was establishing the record label, he met a couple named Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. He got to play guitar and keyboards on their albums and became a member of the touring group. While this was going on, Russell wrote the song "Delta Lady" for up-and-coming star Englishman Joe Cocker in honor of one of Cocker's backup singers, Rita Coolidge. With Cocker's success, Russell helped to organize what would be the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour, an act that included Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. Cocker's self-titled album, meanwhile, peaked at No. 11 in 1969 and included "Delta Lady" and "Hello, Little Friend," both Russell songs.
The follow-up album, the live "Mad Dogs and Englishmen," would get to No. 2 on the album chart a year later and established Cocker as a superstar. That included his remake of the Box Tops' No. 1 hit, "The Letter," for which it is Russell standing out on piano, as well as Arthur Hamilton's "Cry Me A River" and Dave Mason's "Feeling Alright," also being Top 40 hits, and another Russell competition sung lead by Coolidge throughout the tour called "Superstar."
While Russell -- now noticeable by his long, dark hair, mustache and beard and shades -- had success with Cocker and Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, he was releasing his self-titled debut album in 1970. From the album came Russell's pained "A Song For You," a tale of a man wanting forgiveness and understanding from an estranged lover. Elton John, who would work with Russell on a highly acclaimed album/CD in 2010, said it's "an American classic." Though Russell himself never had a hit with it, other artists made it their own from The Carpenters to Andy Williams to Donna Summer, Herbie Hancock and Ray Charles, who won a 1993 Grammy Award for recording the song. Also, his version of "Delta Lady" appeared on the album.
In December 1970, Russell and friends did a one-hour television special on Los Angeles-based KCET titled "Homeward Sessions" that was unscripted and unrehearsed that went so well that eventually, the show would make its way to public television.
In 1971, Russell was working with Dylan during an experimental period in the singer's life, performing on "When I Pay My Masterpiece" and "Watching The River Flow." And thanks to his association with Delaney and Bonnie and new friend George Harrison, Russell was invited to play on Badfinger's album, "Straight Up" during the summer of 1971. It's his piano playing behind the dual guitar work of Harrison and group member Pete Ham on the biggest hit Badfinger had, "Day After Day," a No. 4 hit in 1972. In between those sessions for "Straight Up," Harrison called upon Russell and his talents to play on the August 1971 relief benefit Concert For Bangladesh.
In between all that, Russell was releasing his next solo album, "Leon Russell And The Shelter People" and working with Benno on another Asylum Choir album, aptly called "Asylum Choir II." The former album would become Russell's first gold album. He would also play on projects beside Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Dylan.
Then as a bonus, he found out one of the hottest duos in music, The Carpenters, wanted to take a shot at his composition, "Superstar." And wouldn't you know it -- "Superstar" climbed all the way to No. 2 on the Hot 100 in October 1971.
Russell had finally gained a name of his own with a song that was his. That still didn't stop him from working alongside blues guitarist Freddie King in resurrecting his career and touring with his own backing band in promoting the "Leon Russell And The Shelter People." By the end of 1972, Russell would be cited as one of the biggest money-making draws in the music world, raking in close to $3 million.
Finally, Russell came back off the tour to begin work on the album "Carney." Once again producing the album with Shelter co-founder Cordell, Russell wrote or co-wrote all the tracks. Along with session guitarists Don Preston and Joey Cooper, bassist Carl Radke, organist John Gallie and drummers Jim Keltner and Chuck Blackwell, Russell worked on all 11 tracks in a matter of a couple of months.
Both Russell and Cordell felt positive about a couple of songs from the album -- and they were both released as the "A" and "B" sides of the first single release. The "A" side was a song called "Tight Rope," for which Allmusic writer/critic Stepen Thomas Erlewine called "an excellent introduction to an off-kilter, confused, fascinating album."
The track itself is one that seems to befit its title -- sounding an awful lot like a perplexed narrator trying to decide what's right and wrong and having to do this with the backdrop of a circus-like atmosphere and music, featuring Russell's piano and steel guitar work.
"Tight Rope" debuted on the Hot 100 at No. 82 on August 26, 1972, then powered its way up 22 notches to No. 60, then to No. 49, and No. 41. On September 23, 1972, "Tight Rope" became Russell's first Top 40 solo hit, debuting at No. 34. A big move of eight places to No. 26, set him up for the biggest move within the Top 40 on October 7, 1972, when "Tight Rope" took the jump of 10 places from No. 26 to No. 16.
"Tight Rope" looked like a sure-shot Top 10 hit after three weeks in the Top 40. But it started to slow down: No. 15, then to No. 11, where there was hope again of being a Top 10 hit.
Nope. It held at No. 11 on October 28, 1972 before falling back to No. 20 the next week and off the Top 40 the following week. Seemed like a disappointment, but the fact that Russell even hit the Top 40 with one of his own songs was a victory alone. As for the "B" side of the single, that would be a tune called "This Masquerade." In 1976, jazz guitarist-singer George Benson remade Russell's composition into a No. 10 smash from his No. 1 album "Breezin'."
Russell continued to do what he was doing and in 1975, he got another crack at the Top 40 with the blues-based ballad "Lady Blue." It would get to No. 14.
The 1972 album "Carney" would become Russell's biggest album on the Top 200 chart, peaking at No. 2. His "Leon Live" album in 1973 would get to No. 9 and that would be it for Top 10 albums for Russell for 37 years. That 2010 collaboration with Sir Elton John, "The Union," would peak at No. 3.
In 2015, Russell reunited with Coolidge, Claudia Lennear, Chris Stainton and various musicians that were part of the original Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour for a tribute concert in honor of Cocker, who had passed away earlier in the year at 70 years old. As for Russell, he embarked on a 2016 tour that was so popular that he booked shows into 2017.
Leon Russell is a major part of the history of Rock 'n Roll, walking that "Tight Rope" of success, even if his name may not be as familiar.
