"Doctor, I'm Damaged": Medical and Cultural Narratives of Nicky Hopkins and The Rolling Stones

Pianist Nicky Hopkins (1944-1994) was one of the most gifted and prolific session musicians of his generation, playing on recordings by artists including The Kinks, The Who, The Beatles, and most extensively, The Rolling Stones. This essay considers Hopkins’ legacy through the lens of disability studies, discussing how physical illness prevented him from joining bands because he was unable to tour. As a point of contrast against Hopkins’ image as an abstinent and (at the start and end of his career) teetotal musician, narratives of ‘rock & roll excess’ surrounding the Rolling Stones are critiqued as part of a cultural lineage dating back to Romanticism. Through these focal points, the essay also confronts the complex relationship between disability studies and addiction.

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