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.

Nichols co-wrote many songs with lyricists Paul Williams, Tony Asher. and Bill Lane.

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 Crocker 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.

The commercial (sung by Williams) was heard on TV by Richard Carpenter, who believed it had hit potential and his group The Carpenters subsequently recorded a version, which became a major hit for them in late 1970. It was nominated for a Grammy for Song of the Year, was included on BMI's million performances list and received an award for selling a million copies of sheet music. The song was also covered by Curtis Mayfield among many others.

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