Roger Nichols (recording engineer)

Roger Scott Nichols (September 22, 1944 – April 9, 2011) was an American recording engineer, producer and inventor.

Nichols is best known for his work with the group Steely Dan and John Denver. He was also the audio engineer for numerous major music acts including the Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa, Crosby Stills & Nash, Al Di Meola, Rosanne Cash, Roy Orbison, Cass Elliot, Plácido Domingo, Gloria Estefan, Diana Ross, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Rickie Lee Jones, Kenny Loggins, Mark Knopfler, Eddie Murphy, Michael McDonald, James Taylor, and Toots Thielemans, among others. On February 11, 2012, Nichols was awarded a Special Merit/Technical Grammy Award, his eighth Grammy overall.

In May 2010 Nichols was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He died from the disease at his home, surrounded by his family, on April 9, 2011. In his subsequent New York Times obituary, Nichols was referred to in the headline as an "Artist Among Sound Engineers."

The Roger Nichols Recording Method, his long-awaited guide to audio engineering, was released by Alfred Music Publishing on June 17, 2013.

Roger Nichols

Roger Nichols may refer to:

Roger Nichols (songwriter)

Roger Nichols (born in Missoula, Montana), is an American composer and songwriter. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays violin, guitar, bass, and piano.

Biography

Nichols co-wrote many songs with lyricists Paul Williams and Tony Asher (Brian Wilson's lyricist on the Pet Sounds album).

Asher and Nichols co-wrote several songs on Nichols' debut album Roger Nichols And The Small Circle Of Friends (A&M Records, 1968) which was produced by Tommy LiPuma, engineered by Bruce Botnick and featured session contributions from Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman and Lenny Waronker. Although the album was not a big seller, A&M co-owner Herb Alpert recommended that Nichols be hired by A&M publishing as a staff songwriter, and it was during this period that he was introduced to Paul Williams.

Nichols' collaborations with Paul Williams include "We've Only Just Begun"(performed by The Carpenters), which was originally written for a bank commercial. They were commissioned to write a jingle after a bank executive heard Nichols' album, and it was composed in a matter of hours on the last day before the deadline.