VIA PRESS RELEASE | The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins, a documentary film that tells the story of the prolific virtuoso session pianist Nicky Hopkins, will be released in North America November 5th on TVOD/PPV on Amazon Prime, additional major platforms and will also be available on DVD in late 2024.
Featuring commentary from Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Peter Frampton, Pete Townshend and more, The Session Man explores the legendary 30-year career of Nicky Hopkins and his contributions to over 250 albums, including John Lennon’s Imagine, The Who’s My Generation, and countless iconic songs like “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker, “Sympathy For The Devil” by The Rolling Stones, and “Revolution” by The Beatles. Directed by Mike Treen, The Session Man has been shown at festivals in a number of countries, winning awards in London, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Los Angeles, and Paris. It is scheduled to be screened in The New Zealand Indie Film Festival and The Albuquerque Film Festival at the end of September.
“Nicky Hopkins was a dear friend and iconic piano player. No one had his wonderful touch, feel and choice of notes. I was lucky to have him play on my Somethin’s Happening record. I miss him and listen to him often. He taught me plenty.” –Peter Frampton
“The Session Man film is not a Hollywood biopic, rather a homage to a virtuoso and prolific session pianist. There is a sad irony in that Nicky Hopkins was unknown to the greater public but amongst his peers, he was treated as Rock Royalty. The sheer volume of albums and singles that he contributed on and the testimonials from the star-studded list of interviewees in the film allows me the right to say that Nicky’s story deserves to reach a wide audience worldwide. As Bob Lefsetz succinctly put it, The Session Man is a link in your education. It fills holes in your mental history of rock and roll. Which revolutionized society, impacted an entire generation, music was the coolest medium, it drove the culture and Nicky was there, not on the periphery, but audible on some of your favorite records.’” —Director Mike Treen
Classically trained at The Royal Academy of Music, London, Nicky Hopkins could play Rock and Roll piano like nobody else. His legendary piano riffs and dazzling musical motifs helped ordinary tracks become iconic. With a career spanning 30 years until his tragic early death at age 50, he played with some of the greatest bands and artists in the world including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Steve Miller Band, Joe Cocker, Jerry Garcia, Art Garfunkel and many others.
By the late 1960’s, Nicky was one of the busiest and most successful session players in London. He then joined the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, which took him to America. He settled in Mill Valley enjoying the free-wheeling San Francisco “Bay Area Bands” and playing at Woodstock with Jefferson Airplane. The 1970s were his most successful period, commuting across The Atlantic to play with The Stones, John Lennon, and on countless sessions in Los Angeles.
Living with Crohn’s disease since his teens, his ability to tour was limited, although he would manage tours with The Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, and Art Garfunkel. But it was in the recording studio where he became a legend amongst his peers. As Keith Richards recounts, “We were coming up with songs that [were] absolutely beyond Stu’s—let alone capabilities—his dreams! He didn’t want to know! So, I think that Stu called and said, ‘The only guy that can handle this is Nicky Hopkins.’” Nicky ended up playing on a total of 14 Stones albums.
Nicky’s story is told in the film by Albert Lee, Antonia Cipollina, Arthur Rochester, Benmont Tench, Bill Wyman, Billy Nicholls, Bro Paul Brown, Chris Kimsey, Chris Welch, Chuck Leavell, Dave Davies, Glyn Johns, Graham Parker, Gray Levett, Greg Phillinganes, Harry Shearer, Helen O’Hara, Jack Casady, Jim Keltner, Joe Tansin, John Goddard, Jorma Kaukonen, Julian Dawson (Nicky’s biographer, author of And on Piano… Nicky Hopkins), Keith Richards, Merrell Fankhauser, Mick Jagger, Mike Hurst, Mike McCartney, Moira Hopkins (Nicky’s widow), Morgan Fisher, Nils Lofgren, Paddy Milner, Pete Edmonds, Pete Sears, Pete Townshend, Peter Frampton, PP Arnold, Rory Kaplan, Sarah Sleet (CEO of Crohn’s & Colitis UK), Shel Talmy, Slim Jim Phantom, Terry Reid, and Tom Speight.
The Session Man’s narrator, Bob Harris, former presenter of the BBC’s The Old Grey Whistle Test, had no hesitation in confirming that, “His contributions on their records made him Rock and Roll’s greatest Session Man.”
