New documentary The Session Man about the late rock keyboardist Nicky Hopkins is out now on Prime Video, giving fans insight into the famed musician who played on records by The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and more.
The film features interviews with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, as well as The Kinks’ Dave Davies, The Who’s Pete Townshend and Peter Frampton, who met Hopkins when he was hired to play guitar on Harry Nilsson‘s album Son of Schmilsson.
“Nicky and I hit it off straight away,” Frampton tells ABC Audio. “I mean, he was a gentle soul, a gentle man, and very much so. And that shows in his emotional playing.”
Newly minted rock & Roll Hall of Famer Frampton thinks Hopkins deserves to be in the Rock Hall as well, especially when you consider his body of work. He played on The Beatles’ “Revolution,” as well as the Stones’ Exile on Main St. and Let It Bleed; The Who’s Who’s Next; The Kinks’ Face to Face; and John Lennon‘s Imagine. He played on 250 albums in all.
“[Do] you know the list of people he played with?” says Frampton. “It’s incredible who he didn’t play with!”
When it comes to the many classics Hopkins played on, Frampton says you can really get the feel for who he was as an artist by listening to his work on Joe Cocker’s top five hit, “You Are So Beautiful.”
“I mean, it’s just Joe and him playing piano,” Frampton says. “And it’s an incredible piece of piano playing. So he was definitely a genius. Didn’t realize it.”
He adds, “You know, I’m sure he knew he was good. But that was the beautiful thing about him. He was always so modest and that’s why I was a friend of his.”
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