One of the Most Important Session Musicians in Rock

Nicky Hopkins was the ultimate unsung session hero. His piano, organ, and other types of keyboard contributions can be heard on hit songs by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, and many others.

Nicky Hopkins started with Screaming Lord Sutch’s Savages, which also included Jimmy Page (founder of Led Zeppelin and another session hero). He played with the Cyril Davies R&B All-Stars, one of the first British rhythm & blues bands (Nicky plays piano on the out-of-print Country Line Special album, some of which you can hear on the Hullabaloo compilation CD).

In 1965, he played piano on the Who’s debut album and started playing keyboards in sessions for the top British bands including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Kinks, and on solo albums by John Lennon, Jeff Beck, and others. He played with the Stones on their amazing unreleased concert film from 1968, The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus (left).

Nicky eventually moved to San Francisco and helped define the S.F. sound, playing on Jefferson Airplane and Steve Miller Band albums, and even briefly joined Quicksilver Messenger Service. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest studio pianists in the history of popular rock music, on the same level as other important session musicians such as the Wrecking Crew, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and the Funk Brothers. Check out this excellent Nicky Hopkins site, and a complete list of Nicky Hopkins sessions.

Video: This interview is from Merrell Fankhauser‘s 1991 TV show “California Music”. Merrell talks with legendary musician Nicky Hopkins about his early years in music.

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Liner Notes

“Country Line Special (Broadcast)” (Davies) by Cyril Davies

The Cyril Davies R&B All-Stars were pioneers of the “British Blues” scene around 1962 in the U.K. Blues harmonica player Cyril Davies formed the band after leaving Alexis Korner‘s Blues Incorporated. The original lineup included former members of Screaming Lord Sutch‘s group, the Savages, including 18-year-old Nicky Hopkins on piano, Carlo Little on drums, and Ricky Fenson (aka Rick Brown) on bass. The band also briefly featured Jimmy Page on guitar. They recorded “Country Line Special” in early 1963 as their first single. You can find it on the Hullabaloo compilation CD.

“La La La Lies” (Peter Townshend) by The Who

Nicky Hopkins duels on piano with Keith Moon on drums, while Pete Townshend plays guitar, John Entwhistle plays bass, and Roger Daltry sings. This song defines the way Nicky’s piano would “peek out” from behind the rock group’s sound. Nicky Hopkins plays throughout The Who Sings My Generation, adding “color” to songs like “My Generation” and “The Ox” and the James Brown cover song, “Please, Please, Please”. Nicky often sat in on studio sessions with the Who and appeared on several important albums including Who’s Next. Check out the Who official Web site.

“Sunny Afternoon” (Ray Davies) by the Kinks

Nicky Hopkins plays both piano and the melodica solo on the Kinks’ hit “Sunny Afternoon”. He started playing with the Kinks on the Face To Face album and also played on other Kinks tunes such as “Waterloo Sunset”. The Kinks wrote “Session Man” about Nicky.

Shel Talmy, the Kinks early producer, helped find gigs for Nicky Hopkins and his pal Jimmy Page, and also produced Nicky’s first solo album, The Revolutionary Piano of Nicky Hopkins (1966).

“She’s a Rainbow”, “Jigsaw Puzzle”, “You Got the Silver”, and “Monkey Man” (Jagger, Richards) by the Rolling Stones

Their Satanic Majesties Request is the sixth studio album from the Rolling Stones, at a time marked by court appearances and jail terms for members of the band during England’s 1967 drug raids. The Stones adopted a psychedelic sound for this album and were criticized for it, coming so close to release as it did with the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper. “She’s a Rainbow” features a vibrant piano by Nicky Hopkins and Brian Jones’ use of the Mellotron.

Nicky adds more than color to “Jigsaw Puzzle” on the Rolling Stones’ next album, Beggar’s. Banquet. His signature rhythm part is evident, building up, dueling with Charlie Watts on drums, providing a distinctive backbeat. Brian Jones plays some of his best slide guitar on this song.

Nicky Hopkins played on quite a few Stones songs, starting with “Cool Calm Collected” and including “You Got the Silver” and “Monkey Man” from Let It Bleed, and “Child of the Moon”, “Gimme Shelter”, and “Sway”. Nicky also accompanied the Stones on tour from 1971 to 1973.

“Revolution” (Lennon, McCartney) by the Beatles (single version)

Nicky delivers the absolutely definitive best rock ‘n’ roll piano solo in the middle of this popular Beatles single, “Revolution”. You can get it on Past Masters, Volume Two.

Three versions of the song were recorded and released in 1968, all during sessions for the Beatles’ self-titled double album, also known as the “White Album”. A slower, blues-like arrangement (“Revolution 1”) was included on the album along with an abstract sound collage (titled “Revolution 9“) that originated as the latter part of “Revolution 1”. The faster, hard rock version similar to “Revolution 1” was released as a single, the B-side of “Hey Jude“. Nicky was brought in especially for the piano overdub on this single. George Harrison was later to return the favor by playing on Nicky Hopkins’ solo album Tin Man Was a Dreamer (1973).

“Volunteers (Live at Woodstock 1969)” (Balin, Kantner) and Eskimo Blue Day (Slick, Kantner) by Jefferson Airplane

The quintessential Nicky Hopkins piano riffs add color to “Volunteers”, the anthem that closes the 1960s. Nicky joined the band for this live version recorded at Woodstock in 1969, and also played on the studio version that appears on the Volunteers album. Marty Balin and Grace Slick sing in harmony while Jorma Kaukonen plays lead guitar, with Jack Casady on bass, Paul Kantner on rhythm guitar, Marty Balin on guitar, and Spencer Dryden on drums.

Nicky’s piano also provides the essential backbone and rhythm for the haunting “Eskimo Blue Day”, sung by Grace Slick. Lead guitar is Jorma Kaukonen, with Jack Casady on bass, Paul Kantner on rhythm guitar, and Spencer Dryden on drums. It was the group’s first album recorded entirely in San Francisco, at Wally Heider’s state-of-the-art 16-track studio. Guest musicians included Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar, future Airplane drummer Joey Covington on percussion, David Crosby on vocals, and Stephen Stills on organ. Check out Monterey Pop Songs and San Francisco Psychedelic Rock which also feature Airplane tracks, and listen to our PERRO Fantasy – Let’s Go Together album.

“Shady Grove” (Traditional), “Joseph’s Coat” (Gravenites and Cipollina), “Fresh Air” (Duncan and Powers), and “Edward (The Mad Shirt Grinder)” (Hopkins) by Quicksilver Messenger Service

The Shady Grove album was the beginning of a new sound for the venerable San Francisco acid rock band, partly due to Nicky joining them. Quicksilver Messenger Service was started by Dino Valenti (a.k.a. Chet Powers), who was promptly busted before the first album came out. Founder Gary Duncan (guitar) left after the second album, and Nicky Hopkins joined, which by the time of the Shady Grove album was comprised of John Cipollina (guitar), David Freiberg (guitar and bass), and Greg Elmore (drums).

Clearly inspired by the Charlatans, Quicksilver was known for extended blues jams with a honky-tonk edge, courtesy of newcomer Hopkins. “Shady Grove” is an electric psychedelic version of a traditional Appalachian folk song popular among old-time musicians of the Cumberlands before being widely adopted in the bluegrass repertoire. The Dorian mode melody was first published as “Shady Grove” in the Journal of American Folklore in 1915, but it was traditionally used in Appalachia for the ballad Matty Groves, as sung by traditional folk singers and groups such as Fairport Convention. The fact that “Shady Grove” and “Matty Groves” share a tune suggests that “Shady Grove” is a variant of “Matty Groves”.

“Joseph’s Coat” is an overtly psychedelic track (not to be confused with the “Joseph’s Coat” song from the musical Joseph). Written by Nick Gravenites and John Cipollina, also appears on Big Brother and the Holding Company‘s album Be a Brother, which featured Gravenites on vocals.

“Fresh Air” was the band’s most successful single (you can find it on The Best of Quicksilver Messenger Service). It was written in 1970 song by Gary Duncan with lyrics by Jesse Oris Farrow, the pen name of Chester William “Chet” Powers, Jr., who also used the stage name of Dino Valenti. In concert, the song was often used to open their set where it was usually extended to ten minutes in length in order to feature the group’s trademark Duncan/Cipollina guitar dueling,

“Edward (The Mad Shirt Grinder)” is Nicky’s magnum opus with Quicksilver, and the song he is most remembered for. I don’t know who Edward was, or why he was grinding shirts madly, but this song is essentially a duel between Nicky (on piano and organ) and John Cipollina on guitar. There’s another version of this song on George Harrison’s Wonderwall Music album (on Apple Records — see Beatles Facts), which contains bonus tracks including “Edward” with George Harrison on lead guitar.

“Loving Cup” by the Rolling Stones (Jagger and Richards)

“Loving Cup” appears on Exile on Main St. released in 1972. Mick Jagger provides lead and backing vocals with Keith Richards who also plays acoustic and electric guitar (Mick Taylor is absent). Bass and drums are provided by Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, respectively. Piano is provided by session hero Nicky Hopkins. Saxophone is by Bobby Keys and both trumpet and trombone are by Jim Price. The album’s producer, Jimmy Miller, provides the maracas. It is not known who plays the steel drum.

“Jealous Guy” by John Lennon (Lennon)

This song appears on Imagine released in 1971. Lennon began writing the song in 1968, when, as “Child of Nature”, it was among the many songs demoed for the “White Album”. The lyrics were originally inspired by a lecture given by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in early 1968, when the Beatles attended his spiritual retreat in Rishikesh, India. The Beatles (primarily John) jammed the song during their Get Back / Let It Be recording sessions, where it was referred to as “On the Road to Marrakesh”.

Nicky Hopkins played, sometimes uncredited, on many John Lennon solo songs, including “Imagine”, “Crippled Inside”, “How” and “Oh Yoko”. There is a very poignant scene in the DVD Imagine (Deluxe) in which John Lennon demonstrates to Nicky the piano notes for “Imagine” and asks him to double-up on John’s piano playing to give it a fuller sound.

“Sour Milk Sea” by Jackie Lomax (Harrison)

“Sour Milk Sea” is a song written by George Harrison and released by English rock singer Jackie Lomax as his debut single on the Beatles’ Apple record label in August 1968. This is the ultimate session song, which you can find on the ultimate session album, Is This What You Want? Nicky Hopkins leads the backing band that consists of Eric Clapton and George Harrison on guitars, Paul McCartney on bass, and Ringo Starr on drums.

Jackie Lomax was a Liverpool singer-songwriter and an early friend of the Beatles. At this time, the Beatles had just finished the “White Album” and were looking for other artists to produce for their new Apple Records label. Jackie Lomax’s album, produced mostly by George Harrison, was part of a series of records that included James Taylor’s first album, Doris Troy’s first album, and George Harrison’s solo effort Wonderwall Music, all on the Apple Records label (see Beatles Facts for more about Wonderwall Music).

“The Song is Over” (Peter Townshend) by The Who

Nicky Hopkins’ piano adds grandeur to this Pete Townshend tune by the Who from Townshend’s Lifehouse project, which was later abandoned and the track used for the Who’s Next album. This piano part is by far one of the best in the history of rock music — serious Who fans know it by heart. The song is about the concept of song itself and is part of the climax of the Lifehouse project, with the central idea of music as a source of social and spiritual power.

“Beck’s Bolero” (Beck and Page) and “All Shook Up” (Blackwell) by Jeff Beck

“Beck’s Bolero” by Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page features a prominent melody with multiple guitar parts propelled by a rhythm inspired by Ravel‘s Boléro. The recording session included Page and Beck on guitars, Keith Moon on drums, John Paul Jones on bass, and Nicky Hopkins on piano. In 1968, the instrumental gained wider exposure when it was included on the Jeff Beck Group debut album, Truth.

The song remains one of Beck’s favorites; he performed it numerous times, often as his opening number. On 4 April 2009, Page formally inducted Beck into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and together they performed “Beck’s Bolero” at the induction ceremony, with Page playing the original 1965 Fender XII electric twelve-string guitar which he used for the 1966 recording session.

“All Shook Up” was a hit for Elvis Presley composed by Otis Blackwell in 1956. Elvis received co-writing credit for coming up with the phrase “all shook up” for the refrain. You can find it on the Beck-Ola album.

“Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)” (Maphis, Maphis, and Fidler) by the New Riders of the Purple Sage

Riders of the Purple Sage was a name used by three separate western bands and inspired the naming of a fourth band playing in a more psychedelic country style, the New Riders of the Purple Sage. The name originally came from the title of Zane Grey‘s very popular 1912 novel Riders of the Purple Sage.

“Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)” is a country song written by Joe Maphis, Rose Lee Maphis, and Max Fidler, recorded in 1952 by the bluegrass duo Flatt & Scruggs. The Flying Burrito Brothers recorded a version in 1970 for an unreleased album. The track was eventually released on the 1976 Gram Parsons’ compilation album Sleepless Nights. A second, different version of the song was released by the Flying Burrito Brothers on their 1975 album Flying Again.

You can find the song on Powerglide, the second album by the New Riders, which was the first album to feature Buddy Cage, who had replaced Jerry Garcia as the New Riders’ pedal steel guitar player. The other musicians include John Dawson on acoustic and electric rhythm guitars and vocals, David Nelson on lead guitar, mandolin, and vocals, Dave Torbert on bass, electric rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, and vocals, Buddy Cage on pedal steel guitar and dobro, and Spencer Dryden on drums and percussion. In addition, of course, is Nicky Hopkins on piano.

“Spindrifter” by Quicksilver Messenger Service (Hopkins)

This beautiful piano song was recorded just before Nicky Hopkins left Quicksilver to resume his session activities. He was replaced by Mark Naftalin. It appeared on the What About Me album and on The Best of Quicksilver Messenger Service.

“Girl from Mill Valley” by the Jeff Beck Group (Hopkins)

A beautiful love song by Nicky Hopkins with the Jeff Beck Group that appeared on Beck-Ola, featuring session heroes Jeff Beck on guitar, Ron Wood (future Rolling Stone) on bass, and Tony Newman on drums.

“You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker (Preston and Fisher)

“You Are So Beautiful” is a song credited to Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher that was first released in 1974 on Preston’s ninth studio album, The Kids & Me. Joe Cocker released a slower version of the song on his album I Can Stand a Little Rain. Cocker’s version was produced by Jim Price, and released as a single in November 1974. It became Cocker’s highest-charting solo hit in the United States. The musicians include Joe Cocker on vocals, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Dave McDaniel on bass. You can find it on the Ultimate Collection CD.

More Nicky Hopkins:

Jamming with Edward: Two of the greatest unsung session heroes — Nicky Hopkins and Ry Cooder — jammed together with members of the Rolling Stones on some blues songs and a few originals on this album, released by Rolling Stones Records.
Nicky Hopkins started out playing with the Cyril Davies All Stars and with other musicians in the group Sweet Thursday, which released an album in 1969 called Sweet Thursday. Jon Mark (who wrote half the songs) is the focus of the band, which included Alun Davies, who later played with Cat Stevens.
Nicky Hopkins’ other solo albums include The Revolutionary Piano of Nicky Hopkins (1966) and The Tin Man Was a Dreamer (1973).