Nicky Hopkins

His first wife was Linda whom he divorced in 1986.

Later he married Moira Buchannan with whom he led the rest of his life.

On September 6, 1994, Hopkins died an untimely death in Nashville, Tennessee, from complications presumably related to his lifelong illness from Crohn's disease.

He was born on February 24, 1944 in Perivale, Middlesex, in a middle class family to Alfred Hopkins and Freda Hopkins. His father was an accountant and a strict disciplinarian.

Hopkins studied at the ‘Wembley County Grammar School’ which is at present a part of ‘Alperton Community School’.

From three years of age he displayed a talent for music and since then started playing the piano. As a child, he developed a habit of collecting, a pursuit he carried on for life.

Though initially he took lessons from a local piano teacher, later he earned a scholarship to the renowned ‘Royal Academy of Music’ in London.

He suffered from ill health from an early age and was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in his youth. His poor health and ongoing surgeries almost prevented him from touring and hence he endeavoured as a studio musician.

In 1960 he left school before to completing his academics to join the ‘Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages’ as a pianist. The group toured occasionally and after a stint of two years, all the backing members of the group including Hopkins, Carlo Little, Bernie Watson and Ricky Fenson were picked up by Cyril Davies, the famous harmonica player who left the ‘Blues Incorporated’ in October 1962, and formed the ‘Cyril Davies R&B All Stars’.

On February 27, 1963, he contributed as a pianist on the first recorded single of the band and Davies’ most admired composition, ‘Country Line Special.

However in May 1963, Hopkins’ ill health resulted in his forced departure from the band. He underwent a series of surgeries that were life-threatening and had to remain bed-ridden for around 19 months.

Following Davies’ death on January 7, 1964, due to endocarditis, the ‘Cyril Davies R&B All Stars’ disbanded.

As his weak health prevented him from touring much, he primarily worked as a session musician and soon became one of the most sought after and busiest pianists of London during that time.

Since 1967 through 1981, he played on the studio albums of the ‘Rolling Stones’. Some of the notable ones are ‘Between the Buttons’ (1967), ‘Beggars Banquet’ (1968), ‘Exile on Main St.’ (1972), ‘Emotional Rescue (1980) and ‘Tattoo You’ (1981). Songs such as ‘She's a Rainbow’ (1967), ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ (1968), ‘Sway’ (1971), ‘Angie’ (1973) and ‘Waiting on a Friend’ (1981) included significant piano parts contributed by Hopkins.

He played electric piano for Beatles’ song ‘Revolution’ in 1968. It marked a rare occasion when this famous English rock band inducted him, a non-member for a recording. By this time his reputation as a session keyboardist had grown internationally. After the break-up of the band in 1970, he worked separately with each of the four members namely George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney and contributed to albums like ‘Ringo’, ‘Flowers in the Dirt’, ‘Living in the Material World’ and ‘Imagine’.