CHESTER NICHOLS

Chet Nichols' Music Biography

Chet Nichols is an award-winning singer-songwriter, composer, producer, recordist and multi-instrumentalist from the United States. He has toured extensively all over the USA and has lived in numerous cites including: Chicago, Los Angeles, Boulder, San Francisco, Kansas City, Oklahoma City and more. He has written over 2,000 songs/compositions and has produced 30+ CDs of original material.

Chet is in high demand to create, compose and produce for TV and film soundtracks, as well as placing songs with other artists.

Chet's first album was released in 1971. It was entitled, "Time Loop" and featured some All-Star musicians backing him up, including: Nicky Hopkins (The Stones), Pete Sears (The New Riders) and Dave Garibaldi (The Tower Of Power). It was followed by the album, "Waving Prairie" and he has been producing albums and an impressive catalogue ever since. To his credit, his focus on writing profound and great songs, his older and his newer albums and songs continue to entertain and draw new fans and followers around the world.

For example, as of the time of the writing these introduction notes for this website, the title tunes, "(Spinning On The) Time Loop" and "Waving Prairie" are STILL #1 songs in the Rock-Psychedelic and Folk, Folk-Americana charts at Broadjam.com. And he currently has over 50 songs on various Top Ten Charts on the Internet in a very wide array of genres.

Chet is an Inductee in The Kansas Music Hall Of Fame, joining artists like Pat Matheny, Melissa Ethridge, Martina McBride, Kansas and others. He is on The Chicago Actor's A-List of Chicago-born entertainers. He was nominated for an Honorary PhD from the Kansas University.

Chet's newest album, "Twilight Journals", has just moved to the pre-release stage, as final mastering and mixing is finalized. On 11/1/2016, Chet released a new album, "The Apocalypse".  On May 3d of 2016, Chet released the critically acclaimed instrumental CD, "Music From Trees". This album which follows two, 2015, award-winning solo albums, "Bricks" and "Seeds".

In 2015, Chet released the critically-acclaimed CD, "Beetles Are Coming", produced by Stephen Barncard. His songs, "Jezebel", "Kilimanjaro Moondance", "Serengeti Rain", "Electra", "Walking In Circles" and "If You See Kaye" have won several "The Best Song Contests" at Broadjam.com. "I Know Who You Are" was a finalist in the IMSA Global songwriting competition and he has had hundreds of #1/Top 10 Internet hits.

His CDs, "Beetles Are Coming", "Music From Trees" and "I Was Dreaming", "Taxi To Tonganoxie" and "Waving Prairie" were selected by Pandora for inclusion on the Pandora playlists.

Chet released three new CDs in 2014, "I Was Dreaming", "Band In The Basement" and "Sunday Morning", which are follow-up CDs to his critically acclaimed CD, "Walking In Circles". The title tune won the Broadjam "Best Lyric Writing Contest". His songs are blended with unique stories and folk, rock, jazz, blues and world music. 

Chet's instrumental CDs, "Peak To Peak", "Red Mesa Sunset" and "Earthways" are New Age World Fusion and filled with award-winning songs. "Red Mesa Sunset" was selected as a Top Twelve CD by eMusic.com. "Earthways" was recently selected as a Top Twelve CD by eMusic.com.

"Serengeti Rain", was awarded a Top Award in the Music Aid Songwriting Composition. "Serengeti Rain" was featured at The LA Museum of Contemporary Art's Spring Event. "Beijing Dawn" was #1 on the American Idol Underground World Charts and was a finalist in the Music Aid Songwriting Composition.

Chet's song, "The Last Riders On Route 66", won the Grand Prize in the Route 66 Theme Song Contest. It was lauded as "the best new song about Route 66 since Bobby Troupe's 'Get Your Kicks On Route 66'. His song, "The Mother Road", won the Grand Prize in the Route 66 Theme Song Contest in 2012.

Chet is the author of the #1 classic blues songs "I Come From Chicago" and "I Am The Ice Cream Man".  

To this day, Chet quietly continues to write and produce quality musical experiences and songs and compositions used in TV, films and commercials.

Chet is also a published author and novel having penned two novels, "The Last Riders On Route 66" and "The Children Of Pentecost" and two books of poetry. He has also written numerous film and TV scripts and TV pilots.

His creative skills have also crossed over to work as an actor in front of the camera in commercials, feature films and television shows. He co-starred in "Payback", "Just Visiting", "The Lake House", "Good Burger" and others. He also co-starred in the television shows: "Home Improvement", "The Untouchables", "Unsolved Mysteries", "Early Edition", "Caroline In The City" and others. He has also starred in numerous plays across the USA including shows mounted at The Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, Mummers Theater in Oklahoma City, The Attic Theater in LA, to name a few.

He has also had a successful career in film, TV commercial film production as a creative director and producer in the major global ad agencies. Moreover, he has won numerous Clios, Gold Medals at the New York Film Production and Dallas Film Production Award Festivals, Webbys (for his web production work) and has managed numerous film production, special-effects companies, animation, music video, 3D production companies in LA, NY, Chicago, Toronto, Seattle, Germany and Tokyo.

Chet has an international following and has toured extensively and
performed at coffee houses, listening clubs, large concert venues,
major concert tours and college concert tours across the USA and Canada,
as a featured performing artist and as an "opening act" for artists and bands
including......

B.B. King
Jethro Tull
John Denver
The Jefferson Airplane
Linda Ronstadt
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Jimmy Messina
Timothy B. Schmidt
Rusty Young
Papa John Creach
George Carlin
Steve Martin
POCO
Hot Tuna
Dan Hicks & The Hotlicks
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
It's A Beautiful Day
Pacific Gas & Electric
Jimmie Spheeris
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
Mary Travers
The Charlie Daniels Band
Country Joe McDonald
The Grassroots
Mason Proffit
The Persuasions
Blue Oyster Cult
The Grateful Dead
Big Brother & The Holding Company
Leonard Nimoy
James Taylor
Bollo Sette
Southern Comfort
John Lee Hooker
The Chad Mitchell Trio
Roger McGuinn
Ian & Sylvia
Humble Pie
Modern Folk Quartet
Richard Pryor
KC Grits
Ewing Street Times
Danny Cox
Biff Rose
The Guess Who
Steve Goodman
The Mary Clayton Band
Billy Spears
Brewer & Shipley
Ted Anderson
The Kansas City Philharmonic ... and many more.

Chet has worked in recording studios and recorded with .....

Bill Bradley (Madonna)
Stephen Barncard (David Crosby)
Nicky Hopkins (The Rolling Stones)
Nick Gravenities (Big Brother)
Laura Allan (Laura Allan)
Dave Garabaldi (Tower of Power)
Zakir Hussain (Ravi Shankar)
John Kahn (Jerry Garcia)
Spencer Dryden (The Jefferson Airplane)
Pete Sears (The Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna)
Henry Lewie (Joni Mitchell)
Fuzzy John Oxendine (Sons of Champlain)
Buddy Cage (New Riders Of The Purple Sage)
The New Riders Of The Purple Sage
Jack Schroer (Van Morrison)
Brewer & Shipley ("Live" album)
Don Preston (Wings)
Richard Marx (Dick Marx & Associates)
Sal Marquez (The "New" Tonight Show Band)
RJ Fox (Sherry Fox)
Steve Sperry (The Steve Miller Band) ..... and many others.

Please feel free to hang-out and listen to any of Chet's album and to contact Chet.
Or you can add your info to his mailing list or send any comments or questions his way.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a current and evolving site, as well as being a fun and
informative "historical" site about an influential, independent, American composer,
musician and singer-songwriter, Chet Nichols.

So, we are always looking for and seeking any and all old posters or photos
from Chet's shows.

If you have any, please let us know. We would be happy to provide you with
a nice collection of Chet's music of your choice in exchange for any reviews,
photos or posters you can provide.

Contact Us: MagicGarageMusic@gmail.com

Website Designed and Produced by Chet Nichols for
Magic Garage Productions, Magic Garage Music (ASCAP) 
and Magic Garage Records.   All Rights Reserved.


Please feel free to hang-out and listen to any of Chet's album and to contact Chet.
Or you can add your info to his mailing list or send any comments or questions his way.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a current and evolving site, as well as being a fun and
informative "historical" site about an influential, independent, American composer,
musician and singer-songwriter, Chet Nichols.

So, we are always looking for and seeking any and all old posters or photos from Chet's shows.

If you have any, please let us know. We would be happy to provide you with a nice collection
of Chet's music of your choice in exchange for any reviews, photos or posters you can provide.

Contact Us: MagicGarageMusic@gmail.com

Website Designed and Produced by Chet Nichols for Magic Garage Productions,
Magic Garage Music and Magic Garage Records.
All Rights Reserved.