Preston Love

Preston Love's career has intersected, albeit quietly, with almost every aspect of popular music in the 20th century. Born April 26, 1921, in Omaha, NE, Love began playing the saxophone at 15 and by 22 he was sitting on the bandstand as a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. During the late '40s and '50s he toured the Corn Belt playing in territory bands with Nat Towles and Lloyd Hunter and eventually lead his own groups recording for Federal. He worked with Johnny Otis, who wrote and produced one of the few dates with Love as a leader, the funky R&B party of 1969's Preston Love's Omaha Bar-B-Q. During the early '60s he moved to California where he worked with Ray Charles and eventually became the West Coast house bandleader for Motown. Touring the U.S. and Europe quite frequently, the '90s saw Love also add lecturer and author to his already impressive resumé. In February of 2004, Preston Love's lengthy music journey came to an end when the octogenarian passed away after battling lung cancer.