44 Facts About Nicky Hopkins

Nicholas Christian Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.

Nicky Hopkins is widely considered to be one of the greatest studio pianists in the history of popular rock music.

Nicholas Christian Nicky Hopkins was born in Perivale, Middlesex, England, on 24 February 1944.

Nicky Hopkins began playing the piano at the age of three.

Nicky Hopkins suffered from Crohn's disease for most of his life.

Nicky Hopkins's studies were interrupted in 1960 when he left school at 16 to become the pianist with Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages until, two years later, he and fellow Savages Bernie Watson, Rick Brown and Carlo Little joined the renowned blues harmonica player Cyril Davies, who had just left Blues Incorporated, and became the Cyril Davies All-Stars.

Nicky Hopkins played piano on their first single, Davies's much-admired theme tune "Country Line Special".

Nicky Hopkins was forced to leave the All Stars in May 1963 for a series of operations that almost cost him his life and he was bed-ridden for 19 months in his late teenage years.

Nicky Hopkins quickly became one of London's most in-demand session pianists and performed on many hit recordings from this period.

Nicky Hopkins played with the Rolling Stones on all their studio albums from Their Satanic Majesties Request in 1967 through until Tattoo You in 1981, except for Some Girls.

When working with the band during their critical and commercial zenith in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nicky Hopkins tended to be employed on a wide range of songs, including ballads, up-tempo rockers and acoustic material; conversely, longtime de facto Stones keyboardist Ian Stewart only played on traditional major key blues rock numbers of his choice, while Billy Preston often featured on soul- and funk-influenced tunes.

Nicky Hopkins plays on 14 of the album's 18 tracks, giving him a greater presence than full time Rolling Stone Bill Wyman, who only contributed to nine of the songs.

The eponymous "Edward" was an alias of Nicky Hopkins derived from studio banter with Brian Jones.

Nicky Hopkins was added to the Rolling Stones touring line-up for the 1971 Good-Bye Britain Tour, as well as the 1972 North American tour and the 1973 Pacific tour.

Nicky Hopkins contemplated forming his own band with multi-instrumentalist Pete Sears and drummer Prairie Prince around this time but decided against it after the Stones tour.

Nicky Hopkins failed to make the Rolling Stones' 1973 European tour, possibly due to ill health.

Nicky Hopkins was invited in 1965 by producer Shel Talmy to record with the Kinks.

Nicky Hopkins played on four of the group's studio albums: The Kink Kontroversy, Face to Face, Something Else by The Kinks and The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society.

Nicky Hopkins maintained that "about seventy percent" of the keyboard work on the album was his, and was incensed when Ray Davies apparently credited himself with most of the keyboard playing.

Nicky Hopkins was angered that he was not paid for his session work with the group.

Nicky Hopkins respected Hopkins because of his earlier work, such as playing on "Country Line Special".

Nicky Hopkins was first invited to join the Who by Shel Talmy in 1965, while recording their debut album My Generation.

Nicky Hopkins missed the Quadrophenia album, before making a full return in 1975 on The Who by Numbers.

Nicky Hopkins was a key instrumentalist on the soundtrack for Ken Russell's 1975 film Tommy; Townshend had wanted Hopkins to play on the original 1969 album.

Nicky Hopkins played piano on several tracks and is acknowledged in the album's liner notes for his work on arrangements for most of the songs.

In later years Nicky Hopkins always maintained a soft spot for the band, stating they were probably his favourite act to work with.

In 1966, Hopkins released The Revolutionary Piano of Nicky Hopkins, produced by Shel Talmy.

Nicky Hopkins's next solo project released was The Tin Man Was a Dreamer in 1973, under the aegis of producer David Briggs.

The album features a rare case of Nicky Hopkins singing lead vocals.

Nicky Hopkins released three soundtrack albums in Japan between 1992 and 1993, The Fugitive, Patio and Namiki Family.

Nicky Hopkins became discontented from just being a session musician, and wanted to tour with a band.

Nicky Hopkins remained with the ensemble through its dissolution in August 1969, performing on Truth and Beck-Ola.

Nicky Hopkins composed the instrumental "Girl from Mill Valley" on the latter album.

Nicky Hopkins was reportedly to play in Led Zeppelin when the group formed, but declined the offer.

Nicky Hopkins began to record for several San Franciscan groups, including the New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Steve Miller Band and Jefferson Airplane, with whom he recorded the album Volunteers and performed at the Woodstock festival.

From 1969 to 1970, Nicky Hopkins was a full member of Quicksilver Messenger Service, appearing on Shady Grove, Just for Love and What About Me.

In 1969, Nicky Hopkins was a member of the short-lived Sweet Thursday, a quintet comprising Nicky Hopkins, Alun Davies, Jon Mark, Harvey Burns and Brian Odgers.

Nicky Hopkins played on several tracks for John Lennon's Imagine, including "Jealous Guy", which drew praise from the other musicians.

Nicky Hopkins worked with Paul McCartney on the song "Bip Bop" from the Wings debut album Wild Life and on McCartney's 1989 album Flowers in the Dirt.

Nicky Hopkins performed with Graham Parker's backing band the Rumour after their keyboardist Bob Andrews left the band.

Towards the end of his life Nicky Hopkins worked as a composer and orchestrator of film scores, with considerable success in Japan.

Nicky Hopkins died on 6 September 1994, at the age of 50, in Nashville, Tennessee, from complications resulting from intestinal surgery related to his lifelong battle with Crohn's disease.

The campaign offered the opportunity for pledgers to have their name inscribed on the bench and contribute towards funding a music scholarship at London's Royal Academy of Music, where Nicky Hopkins himself won a scholarship in the 1950s.

In 2021, it was announced that a documentary about Nicky Hopkins's life, called The Session Man, was in production.