Leon Russell – Leon Russell (1970)

I had heard of Leon as part of the Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour in in 1970.  A deep Southern singer and pianist who had a brilliant voice and almost invented that blend of swamp-blues rock.  He had been a session player for a few years, even playing on a couple of Beach Boys hits.  He was joined on this eponymous album by Eric Clapton, Ringo and George amongst others and it became an instant classic with great songs like ‘A Song For You’ which inspired Elton and Bernie to write ‘Your Song’, and ‘Roll Away The Stone’ and the fabulous ‘Delta Lady’.

His follow-up ‘And The Shelter People’ was even better.  He also famously joined George on ‘The Concert For Bangla-Desh’ – a forerunner to Live Aid.  He continued making music and records and touring until his death in 2016 at age 74, a great loss for one of the all-time greats.