Having said that, after a quick thumb through to the very comprehensive section that lists all of his recordings with all sort of fascinting people, then I quickly realised that while I might not have known who he was, I HAVE indeed heard his keyboard skills over the years on numerous recordings with a whole variety of famous artists - none more so than on my favourite ever track by The Who - "La La La Lies" taken from their 1965 My Generation album, where he plays a particularly jaunty piano intro and fill.
This new book by Julian Dawson follows Hopkins' life and musical career from the schoolboy playing for hymns at school assembly, through rock n roll pioneership after teaming up with David Sutch before he even became the "Screaming Lord", through being the session keyboard player of choice for all the top bands of the 60s and 70s right up to his untimely death at the age of 50 and his very last recording session which was with Dawson himself.
Hopkins played on all the Rolling Stones albums from 1967 to 1981, he played with the Kinks, The Beatles, Nllsson, Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, Meatloaf - the list goes on... He played on Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" , John Lennon's "Imagine", PP Arnold's "Angel Of The Morning" ...The Wurzels' "Combine Harvester"....!
If you are interested in music, then you can;t help but be interested in this book. Dawson writes with a style that is easy to read and there are lots of interesting quotes from the people who worked with Nicky Hopkins.
The Discography section is a fascinating read all on its own and there some great photos of Nicky from his early beginnings as a Savage with Lord Sutch, playing at the Marquee, the Star Club in Hamburg, Woodstock and beyond.
"And On Piano...Nicky Hopkins" by Julian Dawson is published by Desert Hearts in association with Bennett & Bloom.
And on Piano. Nicky Hopkins: The Extraordinary Life of Rock's Greatest Session Man
