The Red and Black

Issue date: 8/21/08 Section: Out & About

Media Credit: Courtesy LeonRussellRecords.com [Click to enlarge]

If you had a dime every time you heard someone described as "the greatest musician in rock 'n' roll" - you still wouldn't have as much money as they do.

However, Leon Russell's resume might make you a believer.

Even if you don't know who he is, you probably know his songs and worship the other guys he helped make famous.

Leon Russell started his musical career pretty early - at four years old, to be exact.

After years of piano lessons as a kid and playing in dark Tulsa nightclubs as a pre-teen, Russell hit the road fresh out of high school with his band The Starlighters to tour with Jerry Lee Lewis.

He started making a name for himself in Los Angeles at the ripe age of 17, and it didn't take him long to be considered one of the best session musicians in the area.

Since then, Russell has been making music with the best people in history to make music with: Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, The Byrds, B. B. King, Aretha Franklin, George Harrison, Steve Winwood, The Rolling Stones and The Righteous Brothers - to name a few.

Leon Russell has struck a chord in every genre, on every medium, for every generation, and now he's coming to share the love in Athens.

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