( CNN) Leon Russell, who emerged as a stone ‘n’ roll star in the 1970 s after working behind the scenes as a conference pianist for other musicians, succumbed Sunday in Nashville, his wife Janet Bridges told CNN. He was 74.
Russell died in his sleep, his wife said in a statement posted on his website . Honey Bridges, his daughter, told CNN he was retrieving from a quadruple bypass when his health took a turn for the worse.