On this day (July 3), in 2001, guitarist Roy Nichols died of a heart attack in a Bakersfield, California, hospital while being treated for a bacterial infection. He was 68 years old. While many country music fans remember Nichols for his time as Merle Haggard’s guitarist, he was much more than a Stranger. Nichols also played with some of the musicians who inspired Haggard, including the likes of Wynn Stewart and the Maddox Brothers Rose.
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Born in Chandler, Arizona, in 1932 and raised in Fresno, California, Nichols started playing guitar at the age of 11. Less than five years later, just before he turned 16, he joined the highly influential California-based band the Maddox Brothers and Rose. The family’s band had moved to the Golden State during the Great Depression and was one of the first country bands to find fame in the area.
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The next two decades saw Nichols playing with some of the biggest names in country music. He played with Lefty Frizzell, Billy Mize, Cliffie Stone, Johnny Cash, and Wynn Stewart. While Cash is likely the most recognizable name for modern country fans, his association with Stewart was one of the most important connections in country music.
According to a Los Angeles Times profile, Nichols began playing with Stewart at the country legend’s Las Vegas nightclub in the early 1960s. That’s where he met Haggard. When he formed his backing band, The Strangers, in 1965, he hired Nichols.
How Merle Haggard Met Roy Nichols
After he got out of San Quentin, Merle Haggard went to Las Vegas to see Wynn Stewart play. There, he met Roy Nichols.
“Roy wanted to get off and go to the restroom or something,” Haggard recalled. “He said, ‘Here, play this thing,’ and handed me his guitar. I sung ‘Devil Woman’ and Wynn Stewart saw me and hired me on the spot,” he added. Haggard played bass in Stewart’s band until he decided to go solo.
“Because of Roy, my career commenced. He was the stylist that set the pace of the records recorded in my high period,” Haggard said.
Nichols played on many of Haggard’s biggest songs. For instance, that’s him playing on the iconic intro of “Mama Tried.”
The End of an Era
Roy Nichols played with Merle Haggard from 1965 until 1987, when health issues forced him into retirement. Then, in 1996, he had a stroke that stole the use of his left hand. He was unable to play guitar for the last few years of his life. However, his signature Telecaster tone and his steel guitar-like bends became the hallmark of the Bakersfield Sound. His legacy lives on through the music he recorded with Haggard and the countless pickers his playing influenced over the years.
Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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