One of many first releases on Rolling Stones Data was Jamming With Edward…however who’s Edward? It’s Nicky Hopkins, a tremendous piano participant who left college in 1960, aged 16, to play with Screaming Lord Sutch’s Savages. Two years later, he grew to become considered one of veteran harmonica participant Cyril Davies’s All Stars, which is when he first received to satisfy The Rolling Stones as they had been all part of the London blues scene. In 1962 Hopkins performed on Cyril Davies’s debut single, “Country Line Special” however was pressured to depart the band when Crohn’s illness pressured him to have an operation after which spend a 12 months and a half recuperating.
“What I liked about Nicky is you’d give him a song and he’d develop it, with a couple of passes, into something almost immediately. He was so easy to work with and he could hang; we’d do sessions for fifteen hours, sometimes two days… and he’d still be there, you know.” – Keith Richards
Hearken to Jamming With Edward now.
As soon as Hopkins had recovered, he grew to become probably the most in-demand keyboard gamers in London. Amongst his earliest classes had been for The Who on their singles, “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” and “My Generation,” in addition to The Kinks on “Til The End Of the Day.” His earliest affiliation with the Stones was in September 1966 when he labored on the soundtrack to the movie, A Diploma of Homicide with music composed by Brian Jones. Apart from Brian enjoying quite a few devices, the session included Jimmy Web page on guitar and Nicky on piano. Three months later he performed on a few tracks from Between The Buttons, together with, “Something Happened To Me Yesterday.”
In 1967, Hopkins performed with The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck and in Might he was in Olympic Studios engaged on tracks that appeared on Their Satanic Majesties Request, together with, “She’s A Rainbow,” “Citadel,” In One other Land,” “Sing This All Together” and “2000 Light Years From Home.” From then on, and for the subsequent decade, he recorded with the Stones and appeared with them on stage together with their “farewell tour” of the UK earlier than the band decamped to France in 1971. Not that this in any means put paid to Nicky’s session work. He was as in demand as ever.
At first of 1969, by means of early July, Hopkins was working with the Stones on tracks that will turn into Let It Bleed. On April 23, 1969, within the midst of the classes for Let It Bleed, Ry Cooder joined Nicky Hopkins, Mick Jagger, Invoice Wyman, and Charlie Watts and the 5 of them jammed; Jimmy Miller, the Stones producer, stored the tapes working. These are the tracks that in the end grew to become Jamming With Edward that got here out in February 1972 on Rolling Stones Data.
Whereas he was recording on the Let It Bleed classes, Hopkins was additionally working with Jeff Beck’s band recording the album Beck-Ola. He additionally toured America with Beck, which is how come he ended up in San Francisco working with Quicksilver Messenger Service, enjoying on their album, Shady Grove. The closing monitor on this album is “Edward, The Mad Shirt Grinder,” a nine-minute jam credited to Hopkins and that includes his sensible enjoying; on the album, he additionally performs cello, organ, and harpsichord.
Nicky Hopkins died on September 6, 1994, because of his life-long battle with Crohn’s illness. His contribution to the work of so many nice bands, together with enjoying piano for The Beatles on “Revolution” and solo albums for all 4 of the Fabs, offers only a small indication of what a gifted musician he was.
Jamming With Edward may be purchased right here.
