<P> By 1968, he became press officer for Apple Corps . As a VIP at Apple, Taylor had a major role in the company's ups and downs, making or enforcing many crucial business and personal decisions, for the Beatles and Apple's staff, and witnessing many key moments in the latter days of both . In January 1988, while accepting the Beatles' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Harrison named Taylor as one of only two people worthy of the title "the Fifth Beatle", the other being Neil Aspinall . </P> <P> During the Beatles' existence (specifically, 1960--70 and the Anthology project), several musicians recorded with the Beatles in a more limited capacity, either on a Beatles' album, or on another artist's album with two or more Beatles members appearing . Hence, such artists could be dubbed "the Fifth Beatle" for a single track or two . Artists include: </P> <P> Tony Sheridan employed various backup bands while performing in Hamburg between 1960 and 1963 . In 1961 the Beatles (comprising Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Best), who had met Sheridan during their first visit to Hamburg in 1960, worked with him on their second . When German Polydor agent Bert Kaempfert saw the pairing on stage, he suggested that they make some recordings together . (At that period, Sheridan was the bigger name, with the Beatles as his backing band .) In 1962, after a series of singles (the first of which, "My Bonnie" / "The Saints" made it to no . 5 in the Hit Parade), Polydor released the album My Bonnie across Germany . The word "Beatles" was judged to sound too similar to the German "Pidels" (pronounced peedles), the plural of a slang term for penis, so the album was credited to "Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers". After The Beatles had gained fame, the album was re-released in the UK, with the credit altered to "Tony Sheridan and The Beatles". </P> <P> Apart from Sheridan, the American pianist Billy Preston was the only artist to receive joint credit on a Beatles single (for playing on "Get Back"). On the Let it Be album where Preston's performances are used the song credits list "with Billy Preston", clearly identifying him as separate from the main group, yet also giving him a level of individuality that separated him from studio session players . Preston also played the organ on "Let It Be" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and the Fender Rhodes electric piano on "Don't Let Me Down" and "Get Back". Preston had been introduced to the Beatles during the early 1960s, and worked with them in 1969, when Harrison invited him to join them for recording sessions in order to defuse tensions in the band . Lennon once suggested that Preston join the Beatles, even using the term "Fifth Beatle", but the idea was dismissed by the others . To distinguish him from the controversy over who is the Fifth Beatle, he is sometimes given the unique title of the "Black Beatle". </P>

Who is referred to as the fifth beatle