We are VERY excited about playing Feb 7th & 8th with this guy! He will be in full blues mode as Whitey Johnson. Dig this bio... A recent inductee into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame and a 2006 nominee for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Nicholson has had more than 500 of his songs recorded, has won 26 ASCAP songwriting awards and is responsible for more than a dozen major hits. Unlike most tunesmiths, he is not bound by musical genre. His songs routinely top the country hit parade. But rock bands, blues artists, folk stars and bluegrass acts have also embraced him as a songwriter. “I’ve never found it difficult to ‘shift gears’ between different musical styles,” Nicholson says. “I let myself be dictated by the needs of the artist or of the writer I’m collaborating with. A lot of these guys are just looking for good lyrics. Songwriting is songwriting. A song is a song.” As a guitarist, Gary Nicholson has brightened recording sessions and/or concert stages with the likes of Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, Bobby Bare, Delbert McClinton and Tracy Nelson. During his long career, he has also played lead guitar in at least 10 of his own bands. His musicianship led him into a career as a record producer. Gary Nicholson has produced two Grammy Award winning albums for Delbert McClinton. He has also guided projects by artists as diverse as “blue-eyed soul” singer Wynonna, Americana singer-songwriter Chris Knight, blues rocker Jimmy Thackery and Grand Ole Opry star Pam Tillis. And then there’s the entertainer side of Gary Nicholson. Make that sides. He is actually at least three entertainers. A typical solo show will begin with him singing familiar hits he has written for others. After intermission, he reappears in the white suit, sunglasses and cap that are the uniform of “Whitey Johnson,” his bluesman alter ego. This brings Gary Nicholson full circle. He began his career as a live performer in his native Texas. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but I think coming of age in that Dallas / Fort Worth music scene was really important. There’s a certain guitar sound there. It was a great place to come up because there were so many great players around.” Nicholson was soon captivated by local blues legend Freddy King, whose “Hide Away” had become a national hit in 1961. In college at North Texas State, the budding musician played country gigs on the weekends and met Graham Parsons who was in town for a Flying Burrito Brothers concert. He encouraged the band to come out to L.A, which they did, winning a talent contest their first night in town. Nicholson’s college classmates Don Henley and Jim Ed Norman joined him in L.A. Henley played drums with Nicholson’s band for its record-label showcase at The Troubadour, as well as on the demos that landed the group its recording contract. He then joined Ronstadt’s band, the group that evolved into The Eagles. Now renamed Uncle Jim’s Music, Nicholson’s group enlisted John Boylan to produce its 1971 debut LP. Keyboardist Norman joined the band in time for its second album in 1972. In 1973, Gary Nicholson married his college sweetheart Barbara and moved back to the Lone Star State. He joined Delbert McClinton’s band and also formed his own group, Hot Sauce. During the next several years both bands occupied him as a live musician. But he continued to write songs as well. In 1980, Nicholson’s family moved to Nashville, invited to write for Jim Ed Norman’s publishing company. To make money on the side, he continued taking road jobs with Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, and Bobby Bare. At his first Nashville recording session, Gary Nicholson played alongside such stellar players as Vince Gill, Hank DeVito, Tony Brown, Emory Gordy, Johnny Gimble and Rodney Crowell. Nicholson signed with the powerful Sony-ATV Tree publishing firm and adopted a strict work ethic that he maintains to this day. He came to the office daily, prepared to work with a variety of songwriting collaborators. “The Power of Love” (Charley Pride, 1984), “Break Away” (Gail Davies, 1985), “Working Without a Net” (Waylon Jennings, 1986) and “Brilliant Conversationalist” (T. Graham Brown, 1987) began a string of songwriting hits that has continued to the present. Songs like “One More Last Chance” (Vince Gill, 1993), “The Trouble with the Truth” (Patty Loveless, 1997) and “She Couldn’t Change Me” (Montgomery Gentry, 2001) brought Gary Nicholson to the front ranks of Nashville’s songwriting army. After 14 years at Sony-Tree, he formed his own company, Gary Nicholson Music, in 1997. His diversity as a songwriter is both unusual and impressive. Nicholson’s songs have been sung by country superstars such as George Jones, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, George Strait, the Dixie Chicks, Anne Murray and Willie Nelson. But he has also provided much material to the r&b community, with recordings of his tunes by Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, The Neville Brothers, Etta James, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Irma Thomas, Keb’ Mo,’ Junior Wells and more.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 20:16:33 +0000
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