Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges on April 2, 1942 in Lawton, Oklahoma, United States) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and guitarist.
Russell attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. and began his musical career as a session musician, quickly gaining experience and becoming a high-end keyboardist in demand to notable artists from the 1960s to the present.
By the late 1960s, Russell branched out, first to writing songs, and then working his way from gigs as a sideman to joining bands as a full member. Eventually, he moved into a solo recording position, although he never gave up all his previous roles within the music industry. "A Song for You" is a 1970 song written and originally performed by rock singer-songwriter Leon Russell. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness from an estranged lover, the tune is one of Russell's best-known songs.
Donny Hathaway's 1971 recording is today considered one of his signature songs, even though the song was a cover and the single never made the Billboard charts.
One of the few versions of the song that did make the charts was by Andy Williams, whose single peaked at #82 on the Billboard.