I wish he was still around. The memories his piano created for probably all of us is irreplaceable. His playing is so magical that it's difficult not to get emotional when you listen to this.

Girl From Mill Valley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6oNrN5aNIk

I listened to Face To Face by The Kinks most of the night.  It is such a great album, and Nicky's beautiful piano work is all over it.  I Cant imagine the album without him.

Was that "Following the River"? :)

His work on Jefferson Airplanes "Volunteers" is also fantastic..

A great talent - the Mick Taylor of piano.

Nicky's work on Steve Miller's Your Saving Grace album is also very special, as is his composing and playing with Quicksilver Messenger Service on such tunes as "Edward, the Mad Shirt Grinder".  Given his essential contribution to the sound of so many and such diverse rock acts, I consider the label "the Mick Taylor of piano" to be a shameful insult to Nicky.  His talent and his body of work dwarfs Little Quitta.

did some nice work with Garcia also..........

andrews27 wrote on Jul 23^rd, 2010 at 10:02pm:

A great talent - the Mick Taylor of piano.

Love the way you said it Andrews27!!

Listen Nicky and Mick Taylor together and much more music samples here at Rocks Off...

http://rocksoff.org/nicky-audio.htm

uncleson wrote on Jul 23^rd, 2010 at 4:26pm:

I listened to Face To Face by The Kinks most of the night.  It is such a great album, and Nicky's beautiful piano work is all over it.  I Cant imagine the album without him.

Oh what an album that is. Even on tracks like I'll Remember, the piano is not really out front but it adds that extra bit of melodic magic. It's amazing how many albums I've listened to where I hear the piano and think that sounds amazing and then you inevitably find out it's Nicky Hopkins.

Thanks for the link Voodoo.

His work with The Who stands out too.

Heart Of Stone wrote on Jul 24^th, 2010 at 11:53am:

His work with The Who stands out too.

"Gettin' In Tune" is a real gem.

I can't think of another sideman in the history of rock who has contributed so significantly to the sound of so many different bands.  Can anyone else?  If not, I think it is reasonable to consider Nicky Hopkins the greatest sideman ever.

I think he was even more than that. If you consider how long he had been ill (from childhood) and what he still managed to achieve, it is quite remarkable. He hardly toured because of the illness that eventually killed him and if it had not been for illness, I think he would have had an even greater impact on music. As if what he didn't wasn't enough.

I was listening to Time Waits for No one this weekend and was thinking the same thing. More than anybody, even Stu, I think Nicky was the musician most deserving of the title of "fifth Stone".
You can't listen to the Stones pre-76 without being blown away by his beauty.
Its obvious on songs like Loving Cup and Angie etc....
but you have to really listen closely to some of the other stuff to really appreciate his contribution. Like MT, he gave the Stones a grace and elegance.

Texile:
I agree enthusiastically with everything you write except calling Nicky the "fifth Stone".  Stu, of course, was the second Stone, after only Brian.  A better nominee IMO would be Bobby Keys, who's been with the Stones (and only a handful of other acts, few of which come readily to mind) since way back when Mick Taylor first joined up.  Calling Nicky "fifth Stone," by contrast, actually diminishes his significance in contemporary music by ignoring his many and varied contributions to a large number of other first-rate acts.  Nicky Hopkins by himself was obviously not "bigger" than the Rolling Stones, but his artistic legacy is vastly larger than his work with any one group, even our favorite one.

Brainbell,
Its always been a toss-up between BK, Stu and Nicky in regard to a "fifth Stone" -
but while Stu was the spiritual Stone, and BK was perhaps their soul brother, I always go back to Nicky because of the music. All three had such deep impact on the Stones during a certain period (Stu longer) but for me, I can't separate Nicky from their sound. The opening to Monkey Man, Gimme Shelter, to the gospel fire of Loving Cup (he literally transforms this song from a stoned-out countryish jam to a revival of jubilation) to the lovely latin melodicism in Angie, to the whatever the fuck he's doing in Winter etc.....recently, the phone jack on my headphones were messed up, so I could only hear certain instruments for about a week and the boogie-woogie piano in Rip This Joint is a revelation. (Then again, that could be Stu because Stu was the Stones' resident boogie woogie master...ie.. Let it Bleed).
Nicky's piano becomes part of the music as opposed just the keyboard part. He had something magical that makes the term "session musician" meaningless.
I also love his piano in "Who are You" by the Who, so I realize that Nicky was more than his time with the Stones. But because my connection to the Stones' music is emotional, Nicky's contribution is divine.

Great thread - thanks, ya'll!

Brainbell Jangler wrote on Jul 25^th, 2010 at 6:09pm:

I can't think of another sideman in the history of rock who has contributed so significantly to the sound of so many different bands.  Can anyone else?  If not, I think it is reasonable to consider Nicky Hopkins the greatest sideman ever.

Good point! The man got around! I loved his cool afro hair and his big smiling grin, he was a real showman too!