* En anglais uniquement
Check the credits on any number of rock albums from the late '60s through the '80s, especially
Rolling Stones albums, and you'll come across the name
Nicky Hopkins. For almost two decades, he was the most in-demand session pianist in rock; the Beatles,
Kinks,
Who, Jeff Beck Group,
Steve Miller Band,
Jefferson Airplane -- there was hardly a major rock band in the world that hadn't benefited from
Hopkins' deft touch at the keyboards. Born in London in 1944,
Hopkins honed his chops with
Screaming Lord Sutch and British bluesmeister
Cyril Davies before producer
Shel Talmy absconded with him to provide keyboards on early
Kinks and
Who albums.
Hopkins' biggest break was in 1967, when he worked with
the Stones on
Their Satanic Majesties Request; it was the start of a professional relationship with the band that would last until 1980.
Hopkins only recorded three solo albums, the second of which,
The Tin Man Was a Dreamer, was a surprisingly solid, engaging record that, frankly, no one thought he was capable of recording. Frail and often in ill health,
Hopkins never toured much, preferring the studio to the road. Sadly, his chronic health problems culminated in his death in October 1994. ~ John Dougan