I don't know about you guys, but I have always rated Nicky as the best pianist to ever play with The Rolling Stones. Anyway , just to let you know [if you don't already!],there is a programme on BBCRadio2 [uk] Saturday 20.30hrs called Diamond Tiara's-Nicky Hopkins.......so called because Mick used to say to him....."Come on Nicky, lets have some of those Diamond Tiara's".
What a great way to describe Nicky's playing!?.....don't you think?

his piano playing was unique and he left
traces in the work of the stones.
there's a solo album he made.
"the tin was a dreamer" is the name i think.

YEA..he had real class..was a true master on the keys..the stones were lucky to have hooked up with him..

Too bad none of them (except Charlie) really appreciated this guy.
(Well maybe Mick Taylor too)

After he died and left his wife with a $100k Doctor's bill. Word went out that
she didn't have the $$$

When Charlie heard about it he pulled out his checkbook and paid the bill,
in full!! where was Jagger or Richards???

MLC

well done, charlie.
i once read,that ronnie lane, who suffered ms,
was helped by keith to pay his doctor bill.
anyone heard about this?

i don't think thats fair to make mick and keith to be the bad guys..
1st nicky was paid very well not just by the rolling stones but by the who and others...so he really should have been able to put a few bucks away himself!
2nd in england...most doctors and hosp. are free...not like the usa. a pay for use system... and even in the usa if you don't have the cash most places will do it for free...just ask any city hosp....plus you can get free service from welfare...

if mick and keith paid for every session man as well as every person they worked with for the past 40+ years they be broke...and i don't think anyone should expect them to...

if they help out thats great..but they sure don't have too..

Diamond tiaras sounds so much better than "plink plink"

Hot Stuff - Quit kissing Jagger & Richards ASS!!

That bill wounldn't have been a "pimple" on Jagger/Richards butt, at the time,
and Nicky wasn't just a "session man" to these guys..

Charlie has only made a fraction of what those two have put away, he's
what you call a "friend" in my book.

MLC

I guess he must have been about the most sought after session musician back the.....Who didn't he play with!!!.
I think he started out with Screamin Lord Sutch and the savages.....but he played on The Who s first album, The Kinks, Jefferson, Quicksilver........He must have just blown his money away.......
I guess he didn't have a business head....unlike Mick.......but what a player!

HA...TRUE....but i don't really believe that charlie had to pay anything...
wasn't nicky in england for all his medical care?

twanghound Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> there's a solo album he made.
> "the tin was a dreamer" is the name i think.
-------------------------------------------------------

Nicky has 7 solo albums all released officialy, I have 6 of them just missing "The Namiki Family". You can see the covers of the seven albums and listen music samples here [www.rocksoff.org]

Apparently he made two more in Japan but have no evidence just the brand and number. He also left an unfinished album with Wooy and Nicky on it.

Recently I was contacted by a musician who recorded with Nicky, he send me all the tracks in MP3 format, the producer was Shel Talmy!









Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-03-22 18:51 by Voodoo Chile in Wonderland.

voodoo chile in wonderland,
thanks for the information!

To quote my favorite web rock-critic Capn Marvel (check out his site, really funny):

"It's NICKY '@#$%&' HOPKINS!!! My favorite pianny player of all time, hands down (Liszt? @#$%&! Rachmaninoff? Poser!)".

I can't imagine songs like Loving Cup, Let It Bleed, Jigsaw Puzzle, No Expectations etc. without Nicky's amazing work. And let's not forget his contributions to The Kinks, The Who and Jeff Beck Group.

percystokes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't know about you guys, but I have always
> rated Nicky as the best pianist to ever play with
> The Rolling Stones. Anyway , just to let you know
> ,there is a programme on BBCRadio2 Saturday
> 20.30hrs called Diamond Tiara's-Nicky

Thanks so much for the information I'm going to listen and record to improve our website for Nicky Hopkins.

> Hopkins.......so called because Mick used to say
> to him....."Come on Nicky, lets have some of those
> Diamond Tiara's".
> What a great way to describe Nicky's
> playing!?.....don't you think?

As funny as the reason why they called "Edward"

Stuff -

No, Nicky was living here in the States with his wife when he got sick &
when to hospital. From the sounds of things he didn't have any health insurance....

MLC

Yes, he was living in Nashville with Moira his last wife when he passed away in the hospital.

Nicky lived in a hospital in the early 60s!!

thanks...sad story about such a great talent..too young..

Great keyboardist--had really great touch and a smoothness to his playing that none of the other Stones keyboardists possessed imo. Just loved the sound he got during that period of time. One of the main reasons why I personally prefer the '72 to the '73 tour is I much prefer Nicky over Billy Preston.

The '68-'72 golden period, to me, were a combination of the following factors:

1) Mick & Keith at the top of their songwriting.
2) Mick Taylor's incredible guitar contribuitions.
3) Nicky Hopkins keyboard playing.
4) Jimmy Miller behind the board and added plus of his percussion work.

These are in no particular order, though the song writing is obviously, the foundation.

Glass Slide Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The '68-'72 golden period, to me, were a
> combination of the following factors:
>
> 1) Mick & Keith at the top of their
> songwriting.
> 2) Mick Taylor's incredible guitar
> contribuitions.
> 3) Nicky Hopkins keyboard playing.
> 4) Jimmy Miller behind the board and added plus of
> his percussion work.
>

You are so right. I would add Keith's long-gone but fabulous upper-nasal wail on background vocals to that list. Just listen to how much he sings on Exile! Man, I miss that!

Ross

Yes--Ross--excellent point--add Keith's harmonies to the list

hot stuff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> i don't think thats fair to make mick and keith to
> be the bad guys..
> 1st nicky was paid very well not just by the
> rolling stones but by the who and others...so he
> really should have been able to put a few bucks
> away himself!
> 2nd in england...most doctors and hosp. are
> free...not like the usa. a pay for use system...
> and even in the usa if you don't have the cash
> most places will do it for free...just ask any
> city hosp....plus you can get free service from
> welfare...
>
> if mick and keith paid for every session man as
> well as every person they worked with for the past
> 40+ years they be broke...and i don't think anyone
> should expect them to...
>
> if they help out thats great..but they sure don't
> have too..


Hot Stuff,

How much is very well? How much do they pay the sessions players now?

Socialism in medicine is quite resisted here. But it does exist in some forms: medicare, medicaid.

Ross Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Glass Slide Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The '68-'72 golden period, to me, were a
> > combination of the following factors:
> >
> > 1) Mick & Keith at the top of their
> > songwriting.
> > 2) Mick Taylor's incredible guitar
> > contribuitions.
> > 3) Nicky Hopkins keyboard playing.
> > 4) Jimmy Miller behind the board and added
> plus of
> > his percussion work.
> >
>
> You are so right. I would add Keith's long-gone
> but fabulous upper-nasal wail on background vocals
> to that list. Just listen to how much he sings on
> Exile! Man, I miss that!
>
> Ross
>
Damn right. Loving Cup w/o Nicky and Keith's BG vocals just ain't the same song. "I'm a maaan on a mountain, come on uuuuuuuuup" There are some great bootleg videos of them rehearsing that song.l

hi,
he was paid enough to make him happy..and he was paid more than many other keyboard payer at the time....he was lucky to have always found work...just look at all the big rich bands that used him.. he made more than the average joe in the usa...and he could have used some of his cash to buy insurance...like most people in the usa...all i was trying to say is that its not mick and keith's job to pay his bills...i think they pay their own!

your other question, how much do they pay their session players now?
i don't know....but they pay them enough so that they are willing to leave their other jobs and their family for over a year to play with them...the stones aren't putting a gun to the heads of jones and chuck to make them go on the road with them.. funny thing is that they join them tour after tour...look at bobby keys...been with the stones longer than woodie...

anyway they are paid fair market value...and if mick and keith want to help out a old friend in need....thats great...and we don't really know what they did or didn't do..

Question--Hot Stuff--Do you have any personal knowledge as to how much they paid him? If you do, please so state--cause I, for one, would be glad to learn of it.

If you do not know what he was actually paid then I do not see how you make such a speculation. Frankly, my guess is they paid the bare minimum to keep his services and not a penny more? Look at Ry Cooder--great player, heavily in demand and the stories are legendary about how he had to complain about getting paid. I know he also complained about Keith "ripping him off" but I do not place much import to that.

By the way--if they were so altruisitc--why does it appear that Stu always bitched about not getting paid--to the point of selling bootlegs--for God's sakes! Also, why did Mick Taylor have to sue to receive money for his contributions that ended up on Tattoo You.

Your defense of this stuff seems a little thin--to say the least. Hopefully I am mistaken--please feel free to enlighten me as to Mick and Keith's generosity. Btw do you think Time Waits For No One was written by Keith? How about Pretty Beat Up? Jeez--they were not above ripping off guys in the band!

Glass Slide - Your "facts" are very well stated and pretty much spot on!!

MLC

GlassSlide,

That's the answer I'm trying find out too. When someone makes a definitive statement such as assuring us how well someone is paid but supports it with no facts it becomes a generic hollow response.

Your points are well made and I hope we get a reply. And none of this its private sh*t, as he is no longer here anymore.

what i'm saying is that nicky was in demand...hired by many of the best bands in the world... being in such high demand...he could name his price..or at the very least take jobs that paid him the most..if he was not paid the amount that he needed or wanted he could have just turn the gig down... no one forced him to play with any band.....also in the early 70's as bill wyman stated the stones were broke themselves.. klien had them tied up and as you remember they even had to move to france just to get out of paying their taxes.. but at least nicky could move from band to band..he was a great keyboard man.. one of the best..
and its not up to jagger/richards to take care of mick taylor, nicky h. or anyone else for that matter...like mick taylor he got tired of them and moved on...
i may be wrong, but i never read anything about nicky bitching about being under paid by the stones....let me know if he did? from what i remember he was very excited to be playing with them!

Hot Stuff - you just don't "GET IT" !!


Hopkins was a FRIEND to these guys, practically a band member for 10 odd years,

he ends up dying and leaving his wife (who the Stones must know personally also)
a huge bill that she can't pay... Jagger & Keith hear about this and do
nothing, but Charlie (the nice guy that he is) pays the bill!!

Charlie stands head-over-heals over the Glimmer Twins in my book and in most
others who have heard this story...

MLC

MCDDTLC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> he ends up dying and leaving his wife (who the
> Stones must know personally also) > a huge bill that she can't pay...

The wife that the Stones knew pewrsonally was Linda not Moira


> Jagger & Keith hear about this and do
> nothing, but Charlie (the nice guy that he is)
> pays the bill!!

To be honest I didn't know about this, I'm going to ask Peter a friend of both Moira and Nicky who was with them in his last days.



This picture of Nicky and Peter was taken by Moira his wife some weeks BEFORE he passed in the backyard of Nicky's home in Nashville.

Soon we will have the transcript of Nicky's very last in-depth radio interview conducted that day by Peter





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-03-23 20:56 by Voodoo Chile in Wonderland.

Video of Loving cup.....would like that!