Name: Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It at Speed Cinema
Start: 2026-02-25T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-25T20:30:00-05:00
Location: Speed Art Museum

$Billy Preston: That\u2019s the Way God Planned It at Speed Cinema$

Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It
Directed by Paris Barclay
Wednesday, February 25, 7 pm
Sunday, March 1, 3 pm
$12 | $8 Speed and LPM members
“An eye-opening look at the organ prodigy who fused with the Beatles and helped to forge funk . . . But as the documentary reveals, Billy Preston was an elusive figure—ebullient and all there, and also hidden and mysterious.”—Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, studio outtakes, and rare photos, Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It is an exhilarating documentary about the legendary GRAMMY-winning musician whose signature sound shaped the work of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin, and countless others.
Billy Preston was perhaps the most unsung musical hero of his time. Born in Houston, Texas, in 1946, he arrived in Los Angeles with his family three years later. At just 5 years old, he was backing gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. By age 10, he was appearing with Ray Charles on film, and by age 15, he was touring with Little Richard in Hamburg, Germany, where he met Richard’s opening act — The Beatles. He would later perform and record with the biggest names in music, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and countless others. He generated his own unforgettable No. 1 hits, including “Outa-Space,” “Will It Go Round in Circles,” “Nothing from Nothing,” and “You Are So Beautiful” — and his first hit single in 1969, on The Beatles’ Apple Records, “That’s The Way God Planned It,” produced by his lifelong friend, George Harrison.
But Billy had quietly held secrets about his sexuality and early sexual abuse, known to very few in his life, which tormented him his entire life, affecting not only his well-being and relationships but also influencing his career choices. It is the interweaving of these complicated aspects of this wonderful musician’s life with his extraordinary musical career that Emmy-winning director Paris Barclay has so thoughtfully crafted in this new documentary. 2025, U.S., DCP, 105 minutes. Recommended for 16+.
Co-presented with WFPK