Today, we’re going to pay tribute to an unsung rock great, Nicky Hopkins, session musician extraordinaire. At a young age, Hopkins contracted Crohn’s disease. So the talented pianist was pretty much prohibited from joining a band and touring. Instead, he played on thousands of songs, hitting may of the major bands of the British Invasion era and beyond. Here’s some of his c.v.: The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Easybeats, The Kinks, The Jeff Beck Group, The Beatles, David Bowie, Harry Nilsson, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Steve Miller Band, and many more. My favorite Hopkins track is The Who’s “The Ox”, on the band’s debut album, The Who Sing My Generation. It’s an instrumental, named after bassist John Entwhistle, and the song is in full gallop from the word go, with Hopkins fast fingers banging away at the keys, keeping up with frenetic Keith Moon drumming. Hopkins passed away at the age 50 back in 1994, and left a legacy of great support for some of the all-time greats. Let’s pay tribute to Mr. Hopkins by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.
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