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Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It (2026)
Directed by Paris Barclay
Documentary, Music · 1h 45m
With his signature gospel sound on the Hammond B3, Billy Preston doublehandedly elevated the greatest artists of his time – from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones, from Aretha Franklin to Eric Clapton, from Ray Charles to Barbra Streisand to Sly and the Family Stone. In our film, we explore Billy's career and influence on generations of musicians, as he scored several number one hits of his own and became one of the most sought-after musicians in the world. He did all of this as a soul divided -- by his deep roots in the church, in constant conflict with his identity as a gay Black man, searching for a family of his own that would accept him for who he was.
Cast
Billy Preston
Ringo Starr
Olivia Harrison
Eric Clapton
Gloria Jones
Merry Clayton
Billy Porter
Sam Moore
Crew
- Director
- Paris Barclay
- Writer
- Paris Barclay, Cheo Hodari Coker
- Director of Photography
- Ernesto Lomeli, Carmen Delaney
- Editor
- Scott D. Hanson
- Producer
- Stephanie Allain, Nigel Sinclair, Jeanne Elfant Festa, Cheo Hodari Coker
Details
- Release date
- 2026-02-20
- Runtime
- 1h 45m
- Genres
- Documentary, Music
- Original language
- EN
- Spoken languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
- Production
- White Horse Pictures, Homegrown Pictures, Concord Originals, Impact Partners, Chicago Media Project, Play/Action Pictures, Polygram Entertainment, Sobey Road Entertainment, Abramorama