Leon Russell Bio, Age, Wives, Children, Songs, Carney, Death
Isabella Bartlett Leon Russell Biography
Leon Russell, born as Claude Russell Bridges, was an American musician and songwriter. He was involved with numerous bestselling pop music records during his 60-year career. His genres included pop, country, rock, folk, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, folk rock, blues rock, surf, standards, and Tulsa Sound.
Russell’s collaborations rank as some of the most successful in music history, and as a touring musician, he performed with hundreds of notable artists. He recorded 33 albums and at least 430 songs.
He wrote “Delta Lady”, recorded by Joe Cocker, and organized and performed with Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour in 1970. His “A Song for You”, added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018, has been recorded by more than 200 artists, and his “This Masquerade” by more than 7.
As a pianist, Russell played in his early years on albums by The Beach Boys, Dick Dale, and Jan and Dean. On his first album, in 1970, the musicians were Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. One of his biggest early fans, Elton John, was a “mentor” and an “inspiration” Lean Russell said. They recorded their album The Union in 2010, which earned them a Grammy nomination.
His recordings earned six gold records. He received two Grammy awards from seven nominations. In 2011, he was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
10 Quick Facts About Leon Russell
- Name: Leon Russell
- Age: 74 years (dead)
- Birthday: April 2
- Zodiac Sign: Aries
- Height: Average
- Nationality: American
- Occupation: Musician and Songwriter
- Marital Status: Dead
- Salary: Under review
- Net worth: $600, 000
Leon Russell Age
Leon Russell was born on April 2, 1942, in Lawton, Oklahoma, United States. At the time of his death, Leon Russell was 74 years old. He went to Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he was also raised. Russell learnt how to play the piano at the age 4 and by 14 years old, he was performing at Tulsa nightclubs regularly as he was more committed to promoting his music career.
He started calling himself Leon when his friend handed him a fake identity card with the name Leon so he could obtain entry to nightclubs as an adult while in reality, he was a still a teenager. When Leon graduated from high school, he had already got a band named The Starlighters. They began touring for a couple of months playing music and making new fans even as Leon Russell was becoming more popular too.
In 1959 at the age of 17, Russell left Oklahoma for Los Angeles as he found a regular job there as a musician for shows and studio recordings. This was great exposure for him. Russell was young and quick to learn, it wasn’t long till he found himself associating and in fact becoming a member of the famous if not evergreen Wrecking Crew music group. They were the best and highly sought after in the 1960s. Young Leon was part of them at only 17.
Leon Russell Children, Wives
Leon Russell had six children. Blue who was born on 20th February was his oldest daughter with Carla McHenry. Blue was named Blueagle after Oklahoman and Native American Artist Acee Blue Eagle. Leon then married Mary McCreary on June 20, 1975. Mary was a musical partner.
They had two children, daughter Tina Rose, and son Teddy Jack. On October 3, 1980, Leon and Mary divorced. On February 6th,1983 Russell married Janet Lee Constantine. together they had three daughters, Sugaree Noel who was born on October 9, 1982, Honey born January 19, 1986, and Coco was born on April 29, 1990.
For 10 years Russell was not permitted to see his son Teddy following his divorce from McCreary. Teddy began visiting his father upon reaching 18.
Leon Russell Songs
» A song for You-1970
» Lady Blue-1975
» This Masquerade-1972
» Delta Lady-1970
» Tight Rope-1972
» Back to The Island-1975
» Stranger in A Strange Land-
» Roll Away the Stone-1970
» Jumpin’ Jack Flash-1973
» Hummingbird-1970
» If It wasn’t for Bad-2010
» Shoot out on the Plant-1970
» It’s a Hard Rain Gonna Fall-
» Out In The Woods-1972
» Dixie Lullaby-1970
» On eMore Love Song-1979
» Magic Mirror-1972
» Prince of Peace-1970
» Wild Horses-1974
» If I Were A Carpenter-1974
» Queen of the Roller Derby-1972
» The Ballad of Mad Dog-
» Sweet Emily
» HeartBreak Hotel-1979
» Hey Ahab-2010
» Six Pack To Go-1973
» Rollin’ My Sweet Baby’s-1973
» Home Sweet Oklahoma
» Pisces Apple Lady-1970
» Of Thee, I Sing
» Crystal Closet Queen
» Manhattan Island Serena-1972
Leon Russell A Song For You|Lyrics
A Song for You is a song written and originally recorded by rock singer and pianist Leon Russell for his first solo album Leon Russell. It was released in 1970 on Shelter Records. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness and understanding from an estranged lover, the tune is one of Russell’s best-known compositions.
Russell not only sings and plays piano on the recording, but also plays the tenor horn that is accompanying. It has been performed and recorded by over 200 artists, spanning many musical genres. Elton John has called the song an American classic.
Read “A Song for You” by Leon Russell for Lyrics.
Leon Russell Carney
Carney is Leon Russell’s third solo studio album. It was released in 1972. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 and was the first for Russell to contain a hit single — Tight Rope b/w This Masquerade — which reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In Allmusic review, the critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Tight Rope the opening track, “an excellent introduction to an off-kilter, confused, fascinating album” and said that the album “consolidates his two extremes, offering a side of fairly straightforward roots rock before delving headfirst into twisted psychedelia on the second side. Critic Robert Christgau expressed similar sentiments, writing, “Not the radical falloff some report — just slippage, the first side listenable and the second flaky.
Leon Russell Death
In January 2010, Leon Russell had a medical condition known as brain fluid leak in. This partly interrupted his recording as he was hospitalized for brain surgery in addition to heart failure and pneumonia. He recovered from this and had a public performance with Elton John on April 2nd of 2011.
Leone died in his sleep in his Nashville home in Mount Juliet Tennessee on November 13, 2016, at the age of 74. The cause of death is believed to be of natural causes and not associated with his earlier surgeries.
Russell had suffered a heart attack in 2016 and was of good health when he passed away. His funeral was held on November 18 at Victory Baptist Church Mount Juliet Tennessee with a public memorial held in his honor at Roberts University Mabee Center on November 20 of 2016.
Leon Russell Net Worth
At the time of his death, Leon Russell had a net worth of $600, 000. He earned his fortune from his career as a musician and songwriter.
Leon Russell Contacts
- Youtube
- Tiktok
- Website
