Nicky Hopkins: The Rolling Stones' De Facto Sixth Member on 'Let It Bleed' and 'Sticky Fingers'

Nicky Hopkins wasn’t an official Rolling Stone, but between 1968 and 1971 he showed up for nearly every session and played on more Stones tracks than some actual band members. His barrelhouse piano style—a thumping, gospel-tinged left hand and bright right-hand fills—became the glue on songs like “Wild Horses” and “Dead Flowers,” turning countrified ballads into something rawer and more soulful.

Hopkins got the call because his session work with the Beatles, Jeff Beck, and the Kinks had made him the go-to keyboardist in London. On “Let It Bleed” he more or less lived at Olympic Sound Studios, adding that driving piano intro to “Live with Me” and the wobbly, drunken feel of “Country Honk.” By the time they cut “Sticky Fingers,” he was showing up without being summoned, plugging in and finding a part before anyone asked. “Dead Flowers” sounds like he’s playing in a honky-tonk that’s about to get raided; “Wild Horses” gets its ache from his long, held chords that rise between Richards’ open G tuning.

He never took a permanent membership because the Stones never offered it, and because his own health and session career kept him moving. Still, on those two albums he acted as a full creative partner — part arranger, part emotional anchor — which is why bootlegs and outtakes from the era often sound like a five-piece, with Hopkins filling every gap.