NICKY HOPKINS
Best known for his work with The Rolling Stones, Nicky Hopkins’ Blues-soaked piano figures also featured on the work of The Jeff Beck Group, The Who, The Steve Miller Band, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and a host of others. Nicky’s on-going health issues made it extremely difficult for him to commit to the punishing schedules of a touring band, so he worked mainly as a session musician. A talented composer and arranger, Nicky also worked on many film and TV scores.
Nicky takes a long solo in this sublime example of live British Blues;
Ry Cooder joined Nicky and a few Stones on the ‘Jamming with Edward’ album, cut while they were recording ‘Let It Bleed’, and after touring The States with The Stones, Nicky moved to the USA, settling in San Francisco. In 1973, Nicky recorded his solo album, ‘The Tin Man Was a Dreamer’. In California he was again kept busy as a session player, with The Greatful Dead, Steve Miller Band, Quicksilver Messenger Service (who he joined for a while) and Jefferson Airplane, who he had played with at the Woodstock Festival. His credits over the years would run into many volumes, as he backed everyone from David Soul to Cheech and Chong (Basketball Jones), and he discovered a useful sideline in film scores and TV work. During these years, Nicky played on many Rolling Stones albums and occasionally appeared live with the band, but his health issues were relentless. They often required surgical intervention and, suffering problems following an operation, he passed away in Nashville aged 50. A biography of Nicky was published in 2011, and its title must have been spoken thousands of times before….’And On Piano: Nicky Hopkins’.