_Dean Budnick_

Leon Russell, the iconic songwriter, pianist and singer, passed away in Nashville earlier today, November 13, his website confirmed. Russell’s wife says that the musician, who had encountered several health issues in recent years including a heart attack earlier this year, passed away in his sleep. He was 74.

Born Claude Russell Bridges in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Russell’s music career started as a teenager playing piano in local bars and clubs and contributed, along with with J.J. Cale and others, to the creation of the famed Tulsa Sound. Moving to Los Angeles in the late ’50s and learning guitar, Russell became one of the top session musicians in the city, playing on records with and writing songs for Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Glen Campbell and many more throughout the ’60s.

In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Russell was working with Delaney & Bonnie, a relationship that would lead him to meet George Harrison and coincided with his work alongside Joe Cocker, for whom Russell wrote the hit “Delta Lady.” In 1970 Russell helped to curate the legendary Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour with Cocker and members of Delaney & Bonnie. The tour spawned a hit double live album. “Superstar,” a co-write between Russell and Bonnie Bramlett that appeared on the album, went on to be a hit for The Carpenters, Sonic Youth and more. Russell also released his self-titled solo album in 1970, a record that included one of his most enduring compositions, “A Song for You,” which later won a Grammy for Ray Charles. A year later, Russell would participate in the Concert for Bangladesh, the famed benefit put on by George Harrison. Russell played solo and with both Harrison and Bob Dylan during the concert.

Russell’s unrivaled studio work included recordings with Dylan, The Byrds, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke and more. He also wrote country music under the moniker Hank Wilson and toured with the likes of Willie Nelson, The Rolling Stones, and Elton John, with whom Russell recorded the duet album The Union in 2010. Russell was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.

In 2015, Russell joined Tedeschi Trucks band and others for a tribute to the Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour at Lockn’ Festival in Arrington, VA. Watch a video of that performance below.