More About "The Preacher"

Eric Stevens sent in some historical info about Horace Silver's "The Preacher," as an addendum to my last post:

According to [my] memory... 

In the early 60s Charlie Russo cut it as THE PREACHERMAN, as you may know. His mgr made him claim authorship; it got near the top, so Steve Allen and Ray Anthony cut it, big band. Then it hit the fan! Horace should’ve let it hit # 1, but sued too soon, and Russo & the disc were pulled. They first needed a B side, & I played bass on THERESA.

Well, I hadn't known that. Charlie Russo's "Preacherman" is on YouTube, but unfortunately not "Theresa."

Eric Stevens is a talented and prolific songwriter - here's a link to his website:  http://www.ericstevensmusic.webs.com/

Thanks, Eric!

Addendum 2/8/14: Here's a news clipping from 1963:

The original article is here, in a Dorothy Kilgallen showbiz gossip column.