*The life and career of Billy Preston was celebrated in Inglewood, Calif. Tuesday duirng a memorial service attended by hundreds of friends and relatives, including singers Joe Cocker and Little Richard.
"He made that piano walk and talk," said Richard, who discovered Preston as a high school teen prodigy, took him on tour in the early 1960s and introduced him to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. "There's nobody in this world who could play the piano like Billy Preston."
Joe Cocker moved the crowd at Faithful Central Bible Church's Tabernacle Worship Center with a performance of his hit ballad "You Are So Beautiful," which was written by Preston.
Letters written by Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and others who toured and recorded with Preston were read during the nearly three-hour ceremony.
"I am deeply saddened to lose such a wonderful friend," McCartney wrote. "I love you Billy."
A letter from Bonnie Raitt said Preston was "one of the most soulful artists I ever knew."
A gospel choir dressed in bright red sang throughout the service, reports the Associated Press. Other musical performers included Preston's longtime gospel troupe, former Temptations lead vocalist Ali Woodson and singer Merry Clayton.
Preston died June 6 at a hospital in Scottsdale, Ariz., at age 59. He battled chronic kidney failure, received a kidney transplant in 2002 and had been in a coma since November.