Nicky Hopkins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nicky Hopkins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Born | February 1944 | |
| Origin | Ealing, West London | |
| Died | September 6, 1994 (aged 50) | |
| Genre(s) | Rock | |
| Occupation(s) | Session musician | |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboard | |
| Years active | 1960s — 1985 | |
| Associated acts |
Rolling Stones, The Who, Beatles, Jeff Beck, Jefferson Airplane, The Kinks | |
Nicholas 'Nicky' Hopkins (February 24, 1944 in Ealing, West London – September 6, 1994 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA) was an English musician who featured on scores of the most important British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, playing piano and organ. He is regarded as one of the most important session musicians in rock history, playing on countless hit recordings by leading British and American acts.
[edit] Biography
Nicky Hopkins started his musical career in the early 1960s as the pianist with Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages, which also included Ritchie Blackmore (founder of Deep Purple). He then joined The Cyril Davies All Stars, one of the first British rhythm & blues bands, and played piano on their Country Line Special LP.
He had suffered from Crohn's disease since his youth. Poor health and ongoing surgeries made it difficult for him to tour. This contributed heavily to his occupational preference for studio work.
He began his career as a session musician in London in the early Sixties and quickly became one of the most in-demand players on the thriving session scene there, contributing his fluid and dexterous boogie-woogie influenced piano style to many hit recordings. He worked extensively as a session pianist for leading UK independent producers Shel Talmy and Mickie Most and performed on albums and singles by The Kinks, Donovan and especially The Rolling Stones, for whom he gave some of his most memorable performances, notably on their classic late-Sixties albums Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. Jamming With Edward was recorded during the Let It Bleed sessions, while the Stones' Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, with Ry Cooder, supposedly waited on Keith Richards at Keith's Paris flat, and the "Edward" of the title was an alias of Nicky Hopkins (as in, Edward the Mad Shirt Grinder, Hopkins' star turn on Quicksilver Messenger Service's Shady Grove).
In 1965, he played piano on The Who's debut LP, My Generation. He recorded with most of the top British acts of the Sixties including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Kinks, and on solo albums by John Lennon, Jeff Beck, among others. He also helped define the "San Francisco sound", playing on Jefferson Airplane, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and Steve Miller Band albums, briefly joined Quicksilver Messenger Service and performed with Jefferson Airplane at the Woodstock Festival.
In 1967 he joined The Jeff Beck Group, formed by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck, with vocalist Rod Stewart, bassist Ron Wood and drummer Micky Waller and he played on their influential LPs Truth and Beck-Ola. He was also a member of the short-lived Sweet Thursday line-up in 1969.
Hopkins was added to the Rolling Stones live line-up on the 1971 Good-Bye Britain tour, as well as the notorious 1972 North American Tour and the early 1973 Winter Tour of Australia and New Zealand. Hopkins is featured heavily on the classic 1972 Exile on Main Street album. Hopkins failed to make the Stones' 1973 tour of Europe due to ill health, and aside from a guest appearance in 1978, he would not play again with the Stones live on stage. He continued to record with the Stones until 1980, and on solo records of Stones' members up to 1991.
Hopkins released a solo album in 1973 entitled Tin Man Was a Dreamer. Other musicians who appeared on the album include George Harrison (credited as George O'Hara), Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones and Prairie Prince who would go on to drum for subversive punks The Tubes. The album is a rare opportunity to hear Hopkins sing and was re-released on Columbia in 2004.
Hopkins did manage to go on tour with Jerry Garcia's side project, the Jerry Garcia Band, from August 5 to December 31, 1975.
As a session player, Hopkins was renowned for his effortless ability to give accomplished performances with little or no rehearsal, and was well-known around the studio scene for his perennial habit of reading comic books at recording sessions. The classic Kinks song "Session Man" (from Face to Face) is dedicated to (and features the playing of) Hopkins -- the Kinks' Ray Davies wrote a memorial piece that appeared in the New York Times after Hopkins's death.
He was a member of the Church of Scientology and was awarded the International Association of Scientologists (IAS) Freedom Medal in October 1989.
Hopkins died on September 6, 1994 at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, TN of complications from a previous intestinal surgery. He was 50 years old. At the time of his death he was working on his autobiography with Ray Coleman.
[edit] Selected performances
The Who, My Generation album (1965), "The Song Is Over" (1971),"Getting In Tune"(1971), "We're Not Gonna Take It [movie remix]" (1975), "They're All in Love" (1975), "Slip Kid" (1975)
The Kinks, The Kink Kontroversy (1965), Face to Face (1966), "Mr. Pleasant" (1967), "Village Green" (1968), "Berkeley Mews" (1968)
Jeff Beck, "Blues De Luxe", "Morning Dew" (1967), Truth (1967), "Girl From Mill Valley",Beck-Ola(1969)
Cat Stevens, "Matthew and Son" (1967), Matthew and Son (1967)
T Rex, "Jasper C. Debussy" (1966-7, released 1974)
The Rolling Stones, "She's A Rainbow" (1967), "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968), "No Expectations" (1968), "Gimme Shelter" (1969), "Monkey Man" (1969), "Moonlight Mile" (1970), "Tumbling Dice" (1972), "Torn and Frayed" (1972), "Angie" (1973), "Time Waits for No One" (1974), Fool to Cry (1976), "Waiting on a Friend" (1981)
The Beatles, "Revolution" (single version) (1968)
The Move, "Wild Tiger Woman" (1968)
Jamming With Edward [jam session with Ry Cooder and some Rolling Stones] (recorded 1969, released 1972)
Quicksilver Messenger Service, "Shady Grove," "Edward (the Mad Shirt Grinder)," "Spindrifter"
Jefferson Airplane, "Volunteers" (1969), "Eskimo Blue Day" (1969), "Hey Fredrick" (1969)
John Lennon, "Jealous Guy" (1971)
George Harrison, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" (1973)
Joe Cocker, "You Are So Beautiful" (1974)
Dogs D'Amour "Hurricane", "Trail of Tears", and "Princes Valium" from the Errol Flynn/King Of The Thieves album (1989)
