This Billy Preston/Bruce Fisher song was first recorded by Preston on his 1974 album The Kids and Me and was the B-side of his hit single "Nothing From Nothing." Producer Jim Price created a slower arrangement for Cocker's cover. Fisher was Preston's songwriting partner and he co-wrote both of Preston's American chart-toppers, "Will It Go Round In Circles" and "Nothing From Nothing."
This is one of the more romantic songs out there, but Billy Preston wrote it as a tribute to his mother, a fact that embarrassed Sam Moore, half of the soul duo Sam & Dave, who often performed the tune to attract girls. After bragging to Preston about his exploits with the song, Preston finally set him straight. "You never understood after that how stupid I felt," Moore told BBC Radio 4 in 2010. Moore still recorded it for his 2006 solo album, Overnight Sensational, with Preston on keyboards and Eric Clapton and Zucchero on guitar.
This was originally released as the B-side of "Put Out the Light," which was the first single from the album. After a few weeks, A&M Records flipped the songs, and "Beautiful" became the A-side.
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