This is Leon’s cover of “Sailing,” a song Rod Stewart recorded in Muscle Shoals for his 1975 album Atlantic Crossing.
Leon’s version was produced by Yasu Tokuda and arranged by Kazz Izumi and was recorded at Nashville’s East Iris Studio (formerly the house Of Blues Studio) on March 1, 2005.
“Sailing” was included on Leon’s 2005 import compilation A Song For You as a bonus track, with the other seventeen songs culled from Leon’s Signature Songs and Moonlight & Love Songs CDs.
“This day will never come again and anyone who fails to eat and drink and taste and smell it will never have it offered to him again in all eternity. The sun will never shine as it does today…But you must play your part and sing a song, one of your best.” —Herman Hesse/“Klingsor’s Last Summer”.
Right now it’s about 6:30 a.m. The day is fresh, the sky is pink, and it’s so quiet that I can hear a Downy Woodpecker poking holes in the eucalyptus tree. Other birds are singing and flying back and forth across the garden. A few crows call to each other. It’s peaceful. Serene. Meditative.
Leon Russell understood exactly what Hesse was talking about, especially sing a song, one of your best.
“Life is a song, and love is the music.” – Leon Russell
Leon’s last recording of his iconic A Song For You from the album A Distant Shore, was released posthumously in 2017.
Leon alwaysalways managed to convey a lifetime of authentic heartfelt emotion in every word and note, as he played the piano like no one ever will again. This version is beautiful; reflective, melancholy.
“A Song For You” by Leon Russell
I love you in a place Where there’s no space and time And when my life is over Remember when we were together We were alone, and I was singing this song for you —
Hermann Karl Hesse was a German-Swiss poet and novelist, and winner of the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature. His interest in Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophical traditions, combined with his involvement with Jungian analysis, helped shape his literary work.
Nearly fifty years earlier, this was Leon on the Homewood Sessions with “A Song For You”…
In December 1970 Leon Russell recorded the Homewood Sessions at the Vine Street Theatre in Hollywood, broadcast as an ‘unscripted and unrehearsed’ one-hour TV special on KCET TV and later re-broadcast several times on the Public Broadcasting System. They actually shot six hours but only broadcast one. Claimed to be the first national broadcast of a stereo rock and roll performance, this would have required an FM simulcast, since American television was not stereo in 1970s.
“Tomorrow I’ll Be Gone” is an unreleased 1966 track widely attributed to a collaboration between Leon Russell and legendary music producer Snuff Garrett.
This specific 1966 recording has circulated among deep-cut collectors and music historians—often appearing on rare bootlegs or historical archival threads labeled as an “Unknown Artist” fronting a track arranged or written by Russell and Garrett. Because it was never given an official studio release by a major label, it remains a rare piece of rock-and-roll history.
I’d Rathe Be Blind is a blues song written, composed, and produced by LeonRussell, recorded by legendary blues guitarist and singer FreddieKing with Leon on piano.
(This is not the same as “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta Jamea.)
Image from Church Studio
Freddie’s voice is as distinctive as Leon’s.
When I saw Leon in concert, he was with Freddie King. It was memorable, that’s for sure.
Was there anyone Leon did NOT work with? I think not. This time it was Aretha Franklin.
Check out this treasure from 1964 when Leon Russell was the featured house pianist for the TV show, Shindig.
This time, he’s right there with Aretha Franklin, and once again, this is Leon with short hair, no beard, and no sunglasses, but he’s still and always the Master of Space and TIme.
The two shared a mutual professional history: Leon Russell played piano on early sessions for Franklin at Columbia Records (including a string arrangement of “Am I Blue?”), and Franklin later recorded a renowned cover of Russell’s classic ballad, “A Song for You”.
Before the collaboration with Aretha on Shindig, word got around about the skinny kid from Oklahoma who played the piano like nobody else, and producers and arrangers booked him for their sessions as soon as he turned twenty-one and was able to join the union. Among them was Robert Mersey who had Russell on several, including this pair of songs for Aretha Franklin in 1963. Thanks to Leon Russell Superstar in a Masquerade
I’ve been waiting…..for the great relief of having you to talk to...
Pain is a crazy thing; it has a life of its own, it takes over every minute of every day, and that’s all you can think of — it’s like oceans of pain with no relief.
Anyway, stubborn me finally called the doc to tell her I had shingles. She immediately called in a prescription for an anti-viral. She said I’m a bit outside of the 72 hour window for it to be totally effective, but she hoped it would still work to relieve the intense burning and stabbing pain and shorten the duration of this cycle of hell.
I can’t get comfortable, I can’t lie on my back or my right side and sitting is also excruciating, so I’ve given up attempting to find the least tortuous position. I’m sick of watching TV, too. Sleep is elusive because I can’t get comfortable.
Awake at 3am, these lyrics were swirling around in my delirious brain…“darling, be home soon…”
I couldn’t remember what song it came from, so I opened my computer and searched. I learned that it was originally written and performed by John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful for the soundtrack of Francis Ford Coppola’s film You’re a Big Boy Now, and another version included in the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour.
Not only was our magical Leon Russell a brilliant songwriter, composer, pianist, and singer, his arranging skills were off the chart.
Here’s the original of Darling Be Home Soon by the Lovin’ Spoonful and the Leon Russell version with Joe Cocker of the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour.
Bonus! Master of Space and Time, Leon Russell, on guitar. You beauty!
They lyrics are quite poignant and as beautiful now as they were in the 60s…
Come and talk of all the things we did today Here and laugh about our funny little ways While we have a few minutes to breathe And I know that it’s time you must leave
But darling be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling be home soon It’s not just these few hours but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
And now, a quarter of my life is almost passed I think I’ve come to see myself at last And I see that the time spent confused Was the time that I spent without you And I feel myself in gloom
So darling be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling be home soon It’s not just these few hours but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
So darling… My darling be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling be home soon It’s not just these few hours but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
Go and beat your crazy head against the sky Try and see beyond the houses and your eyes It’s OK to shoot the moon
Darling be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling be home soon It’s not just these few hours but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
I possess an endless fascination and curiosity about how someone can change so drastically from being an anonymous, quiet, shy, piano player behind the scenes on hundreds of songs — to the persona that emerged and developed into the magical Master of Space and Time, Leon Russell.
I wish I could have asked him how it happened, how he shifted from one to the other, but sadly, I’ll never get the chance, so I continue to marvel at his drastic transformation.
In 1959, he was still Claude Russell Bridges; he hadn’t yet metamorphosed into the uber cool bearded musician with long hair and those iconic sunglasses, but the talent was there. Long before he became Leon Russell and had massively successful career as a solo artist, he was still a musical genius.
Leon was only about fourteen when he formed The Starlighters in the mid-1950s. He and the other band members attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
This is a photo of the Starlighters at the Tropicana Club, 1959. Left to right: Leo Feathers, Chuck Blackwell, Ron Ryan, Johnny Williams, and Russell Bridges wearing glasses.
A promoter at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa hired the Starlighters to back Jerry Lee Lewis at an upcoming show.
After the Starlighters’ first warm-up set, Lewis came up onto the bandstand, pointed at seventeen-year-old Leon, and declared, ”I’m not gonna set down at that piano. He plays a lot better piano than I do!” Lewis immediately hired the band to back him on a tour. (Courtesy of the OKPOP Museum)
Leon produced this record when he was seventeen. I’m blown away by his piano mastery; he was definitely destined for greatness.
Amy Lee Nelson and Tina Rose Bridges, the daughters of Willie Nelson and Leon Russell, have officially joined forces to create a brand new duo, ALeeN ROSE.
Their debut single, “They’re There” features music icon Willie Nelson. According to PEOPLE, he wrote the song’s bridge, played guitar, and lent his unmistakable vocals. “Now it’s a full-on family song, as it should be,” Amy said.
The song is a loving tribute to Amy’s late brother Billy Nelson who died in 1991 and Tina Rose’s father, Leon Russell. Leon died in 2016.
“In my dreams, my daddy tells me stories / Of all the things I can do and who I could be / He takes my hand / says understand you’re still beside me/ I’m not gone/ We are waltzing inside this dream,” Tina Rose sings on her verse.
This is a sweet and beautiful song that honors their spirits and the memories that continue to guide them through life.
“Tina Rose called me one evening during lockdown and we spoke about the feelings of loss surrounding the death of her dad,” Amy Lee Nelson recalls, “I told her how I’ve found myself often saying ‘they’re there’ when speaking of loved ones who have passed. I shared with her a song that I had begun writing after having dream visions of my brother, Billy.”
She continues, “I asked her to write the second verse as a healing outlet for her pain and grief. I was blown away by the verse she brought back to me. But it still wasn’t finished and we weren’t sure where to take it. We asked my dad for help, and so he wrote the bridge. Now it is a full-on family song, as it should be.”
Willie Nelson and Leon Russell are two of the best and most individual songwriters and vocalists in any musical genre. Leon Russell was a musician, songwriter, and arranger who had been a first-call session man and producer even longer than he had been known as an individual performer.
In 1979, Willie Nelson and Leon Russell released their chart-topping double album, One for the Road. Although One for the Road is their only joint album, the two continued to perform together on stage over the years.
News of ALeeN ROSE’s “They’re There” release comes soon after Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas Nelson, performed a cover of Leon Russell’s “A Song for You” at Cain’s Ballroom in Oklahoma. The track’s release also coincides with what would have been Billy Nelson’s 68th birthday.
As you listen to “They’re There”, the respect and love is truly inspirational.
It oozes with generational talent. Their ability to translate feelings into a musical format is genuine and authentic. What an amazing way to carry on the legacy of two musical giants. I just know that Leon Russell would be so proud of Tina Rose.
I discovered yet another talented musician who had Leon’s magic umami sprinkled onto his songs.
This time it’s Dave Mason, founding member of the rock band, Traffic, who recently passed away on April 19.
As he was forming his own public persona as a solo artist, Leon Russell continued to collaborate with other musicians.
As I re-listen to these Dave Mason songs, I can now detect Leon’s contributions; always distinctive, always the secret ingredient, the umami that enhanced the flavor of every melody and arrangement.
In my opinion, he was meant to be on center stage, never in the background and anonymous.
Special thanks to Leon Russell Superstar in a Masquerade. His YouTube channel is an encyclopedia about the Master of Space and Time. Featured photo curated from Pinterest.
I’m not sure I really liked this song when it first came out; perhaps it was a bit too “country” for this little hippie rocker chick, along with “Rhinestone Cowboy”, but the lyrics and melody stood the test of time, and then there’s LEON, or as he was known back then, Claude Russell Bridges.
I had no idea he was the pianist on this recording; another magical moment from the Master of Space and Time, the secret ingredient.
Here’s another version from 1983. They made a great team, part of the famous Wrecking Crew of first call studio musicians in Los Angeles during the 1960’s. I could watch his fingers on the piano all day every day.
