Nicky Hopkins (born Nicholas Christian Hopkins (February 24, 1944, Harlesden, North London - September 6, 1994 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins produced and performed on some of the most important British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the most important session musicians in rock history. 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. ...show more

Nicky Hopkins (born Nicholas Christian Hopkins (February 24, 1944, Harlesden, North London - September 6, 1994 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins produced and performed on some of the most important British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the most important session musicians in rock history. 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 The Rolling Stones. His performances with The Rolling Stones were among his most memorable, notably on their Sixties albums Between the Buttons, Their Satanic Majesties Request, Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. Hopkins also played on Jamming With Edward, an unofficial Stones release that was recorded during the Let It Bleed sessions, while the Stones' Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, with Hopkins and Ry Cooder, supposedly waited for Keith Richards at Keith's Paris flat. The "Edward" of the title was an alias of Nicky Hopkins, derived from his outstanding performance on "Edward, the Mad Shirt Grinder", a song from Quicksilver Messenger Service's Shady Grove LP. ...show less