Leon Russell died on November 13, 2016, at 74. He had led Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen band, written “A Song for You” and “This Masquerade,” and made a duet album with Elton John. Those roles grew out of the same working life: a pianist who could arrange a record, organize a band and supply the song.
Born in Lawton, Oklahoma, Russell developed his playing in Tulsa before joining the Los Angeles recording community. During the 1960s, he worked among the session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, playing keyboards and guitar. His partnership with Cocker brought several of those skills together. On the 1969 album Joe Cocker!, Russell co-produced, arranged and played piano, organ and guitar. Cocker also recorded Russell’s “Delta Lady,” making the songwriter’s own material part of their collaboration.
That studio partnership expanded dramatically in 1970. With a US tour approaching and Cocker needing musicians, Russell assembled a group that included three drummers and a backing choir. He served as musical director while playing piano and lead guitar, drawing on the connections he had made through session work. The tour’s performances were preserved in a concert film and a live double album.
Russell was establishing a solo identity at the same time. He and producer Denny Cordell founded Shelter Records, which released his self-titled debut in 1970. “A Song for You” opened the album, which also included “Delta Lady” and “Hummingbird.” The Cocker tour gave Russell room to perform his own material, including “Dixie Lullaby,” as his solo career took shape. In 1972, his album Carney included “Tight Rope,” a hit under his own name.
His writing traveled beyond those performances. The Songwriters Hall of Fame counts Ray Charles, Donny Hathaway and Willie Nelson among the artists who recorded “A Song for You.” George Benson’s version of “This Masquerade” won Record of the Year at the 1977 Grammys. Russell’s compositions had become part of other artists’ catalogs, carrying his writing into soul, country and jazz recordings.
The relationship with Elton John eventually brought Russell back into a shared recording project. The two had met in 1970, and John had opened shows for him that year. John later enlisted producer T Bone Burnett and proposed making an album together. A 2016 retrospective on John’s official website recalled Russell’s question: “Do you think I can do it?” John reassured him, and Russell agreed to record.
Released in October 2010, The Union put both men at their pianos, recording live in the studio. Russell contributed “If It Wasn’t for Bad,” which received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The album reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and the pair toured together in 2010 and 2011.
John inducted Russell into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, when he received the Award for Musical Excellence. Russell also entered the Songwriters Hall of Fame that year. In 2018, the Grammy Hall of Fame recognized his original 1970 recording of “A Song for You”—the performance that had opened his solo debut.
