One of the two lead guitarists of the psychedelic-era San Francisco band Quicksilver Messenger Service, Gary Duncan, died June 29, 2019.Duncan, who also served as one of the group’s three primary singers, died in Woodland, Calif., after suffering a seizure and falling into a coma. Ray Davies on Nicky Hopkins, from The New York Times, January 1, 1995SESSION MAN Nicky Hopkins (1944-1994) played piano with a classical proficiency and the soul of a bluesman. While in Mill Valley he married his first wife Linda, universally known as Dolly. Nicky Hopkins was born on February 24, 1944 and died on September 6, 1994. Nicky Hopkins died in Nashville on 6th September 1994 at the tragically early age of fifty, from complications related to his lifelong illnesses and frailty. Nicky was forced to leave the group when he entered hospital in May 1963 for a series of operations that almost cost him his life. Nicky Hopkins, pianist: born London 24 February 1944; married; died California September 1994. Hopkins recorded and toured with many famous artists from the 1960s on, most notably the Rolling Stones. He remains arguably the most important and certainly one of the busiest session men in rock history and left his mark on hundreds of recordings. After a brief return to England, he was based for many years in Los Angeles. EDDIE (EDWARD LESLIE) HOPKINS 1941 – 2007. Biography of Nicky Hopkins (excerpt) Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins could be heard adding piano to John Lennon's Imagine album, to the Who's My Generation and the Stones' Let It Bleed and Exile On Mainstreet. After the war his parents Alfred and Freda moved to a larger house in Harrow, near the Guinness brewery where Alfred worked as an accountant. For three generations, rock'n'roll has been the heartbeat of our world, and Nicky Hopkins defines rock'n'roll. Burned out by his relentless schedule, Nicky decided to join a band again and, after turning down Led Zeppelin, opted for the Jeff Beck Group, with whom he toured North America and recorded two albums. Nicky was dogged from an early age by ill health and was later in life diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. The shows Jerry did with Nicky Hopkins don’t sound like any other in his career due to the slow, baroque deliberateness of Hopkins’ playing. As Nils Lofgren said, ‘Nicky wrote the book on rock’n’roll piano’. Pleasant, Polydor/Decca THE KINKS, Autumn Almanac, Pye (UK) DAVE DAVIES, Death Of A Clown, Pye/Reprise JEFF BECK, Beck’s Bolero, Columbia/Epic YARDBIRDS, Little Games, Columbia MARC BOLAN, Jasper C. Debussy, Track PP ARNOLD, The First Cut Is The Deepest, Immediate BEATLES, Hey Jude/Revolution (B-side), Apple You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. In 1969 he played briefly with the Jeff Beck Group before moving to live in San Francisco, where he played with the Steve Miller Band and joined Quick Silver Messenger Service as a full member. the guy at the grand piano is Ian Stewart. However, as the US critic Dave Marsh stated: 'Nicky Hopkins was THE most important rock 'n' roll session musician - ever.'. Dedicated To The Late, Great Nicky Hopkins, 24th February 1944 - 6th September 1994. He was closely involved with the American Shel Talmy, who produced the Who and the Kinks. When he was discharged he found that the group had broken up following Cyril Davies's death. He was bed-ridden for an incredible nineteen months in his late teens, during which time Cyril Davies died tragically of leukaemia. In 1966 CBS released his all-instrumental solo album The Revolutionary Piano Of Nicky Hopkins and the same year saw him recording for the first time with the Rolling Stones, with whom he would go on to record more than a dozen of their finest albums. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Keyboards man Nicky Hopkins was plagued by ill health throughout his life and it eventually led to an early death at the age of 50. Born: 24-Feb-1944 Birthplace: Perivale, Middlesex, England Died: 6-Sep-1994 Location of death: Nashville, TN Cause of death: Complications of Surgery. He played on lots of the Kinks' early records and with the Hollies, but never appeared on stage with them. Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. For many years the studios resounded to his attacking piano style, as Hopkins was invited to play with John Lennon, Art Garfunkel, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Carly Simon, Donovan, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, McGuinness Flint, Bill Wyman and Peter Frampton. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Arroca (talk • contribs) 21:15, 21 June 2011 (UTC) The above comment is correct: Nicky Hopkins is not in the picture 217.209.212.48 14:53, 26 June 2011 (UTC) His cause of death was alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, which he suffered from most of his life, and which is exacerbated by smoking. Nicky Hopkins, a British keyboardist whose work is heard on many great rock songs, has died at the age of 50. He won numerous music polls in his lifetime and his influence has been acknowledged by colleagues such as Chuck Leavell, Benmont Tench and ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick. No longer strong enough to contemplate touring, Nicky entered the London session world and quite soon fulfilled his ambition to become the scene’s busiest pianist. Hopkins proved to be a short-lived (less than a year in the band) but potent dueling partner for Garcia. He continued to work with various clients and was involved in a band project with Joe Walsh and Frankie Miller right up to the end of his life. There were obituaries in Time Magazine, most of the quality papers and in the music press. Read our full mailing list consent terms here. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. An English singer and musician , best known for his cover of The Beatles’ With A Little Help From My Friends’.Cocker and the Grease Band performed several songs at Woodstock, including “Delta Lady,” “Something’s Comin’ On,” “Let’s Go Get Stoned,” “I Shall Be Released” and “With a Little Help from My Friends.” Even at his lowest ebb, his brilliance both onstage and in the studio was rarely affected and he continued to work for an impressive list of clients from Rod Stewart and Graham Parker to Meatloaf and Julio Iglesias. The keyboard player on the left is Billy Preston. When the Beatles split up, Nicky went on to work with all four on solo albums including Lennon’s Imagine and Walls & Bridges, Harrison’s Living In The Material World, Ringo Star’s Ringo and McCartney’s Flowers In The Dirt, but like many others during the seventies, Nicky was drawn into increasing problems with drugs and drink and concert tours with Jerry Garcia and Joe Cocker often made headlines for bad behaviour rather than for music. Despite several attempts at his own records, he never managed to score a hit, and was destined to live in the shadow of his mega-star compatriots. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Adopted by key producers of the time such as Shel Talmy, he worked with a long list of well-known clients, including the Who, the Kinks, the Easybeats, David Bowie, Dusty Springfield and Cat Stevens as well as hundreds of more obscure artists (see Discography). Mr. Hopkins, who was born in … Nicky Hopkins Birthday: Feb. 24, 1944 Place of birth: Harlesden, London, England Death: Sept. 6, 1994 Cause of death: Complications from intestinal surgery. Talmy wanted to encourage the young pianist and produced Hopkins's debut solo album, The Revolutionary Piano of Nicky Hopkins, released in 1966. Hopkins, Nicky - The tin man was a dreamer _1973 01-Sundown in Mexico 02-Waiting for the Band 03-Edward (the mad shirt grinder) 04-Dolly 05-Speed On 06-Dreamer 07-Banana Anna He then left the band for a year and was replaced by keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. Sadly, his chronic health problems culminated in his death in October 1994. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Cause of death: 260: 260. Bobby Keys, whose swampy saxophone was as key a component of the peak-period Rolling Stones as Clarence Clemons’ sax was for the E Street Band, died at age 70, in Middle Tennessee. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Duncan rejoined the band for a New Year's Eve show at Winterland; he brought Dino Valenti, with whom he been collaborating, with him. Increasing problems with his health led to hospitalisation in 1993 and early the following year he left California in the wake of the earthquakes and moved to the greener and safer climes of Nashville, Tennessee. Ill-health forced Hopkins to leave the All Stars and he was hospitalised from May 1963 to December 1964. By the time he guested on the Beatles’ Revolution in 1968, his reputation had begun to spread internationally. 16. Ray Davies sang in affectionate tribute, 'He's a session man, a pop music-ian]'. He is most remembered for one of the most important session musicians in rock history. NICKY HOPKINS, Mr. {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. Nicholas Christian Hopkins: Nick Name: Not Known: Alternative Name: Occupation: Cause of Death: surgery complication – heart failure: Star/Sun Sign: Pisces: Caste: Unknown Gender: Male Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Pianist. Hopkins lived in Mill Valley, California for several years before moving to Nashville, Tennesse. 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. He was born and raised in London, and studied classical music as a child. Those in the world of pottery and ceramics were stunned by the death of Eddie Hopkins on Tuesday 7 August 2007 at the age of 66. His classical studies were interrupted on leaving school at age sixteen when he joined the original line-up of one of the UK’s pioneering rock’n’roll acts, Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages. Nicky Hopkins didn't play on the 1975 Stones tour. Hopkins began his session career working with the Who, the Kinks, Creation, and the Easybeats. After two years of intermittent touring the entire backing group was picked up by harmonica player and blues purist Cyril Davies, becoming his All Stars. When he was discharged he found that the group had broken up following Cyril Davies's death. 'OH FOR Nicky Hopkins]' That was the cry from a desperate Pete Townshend as he struggled to play the piano while recording the Who's epic Tommy back in 1969. Frail and often in ill health, Hopkins never toured much, preferring the studio to the road. avg. The resulting album The Tin Man Was A Dreamer is his best-known solo work, but despite an all-star cast that included George Harrison, Nicky was never comfortable in the role of front man. Ill-health forced Hopkins to leave the All Stars and he was hospitalised from May 1963 to December 1964. As a child, Nicky Hopkinswas diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. His death was from complications resulting from intestinal surgery related to his lifelong battle with Crohn's disease. About. It was on this day, 40 years ago, it was a lethal combination of cocaine and pizza that was said to cause the heart attack that killed Lowell George. To their Who 's Next album and 1975 he played on the 1975 Stones tour day, but inside... 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