{"id":13177,"date":"2026-07-22T03:30:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=13177"},"modified":"2026-07-22T03:30:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:30:53","slug":"jimmy-nichols-who-played-with-reba-more-dead-at-64","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=13177","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Nichols, Who Played With Reba + More, Dead at 64"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Jimmy Nichols \u2014 a session player and musical director who worked with Nashville greats like <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/tags\/reba-mcentire\" target=\"_blank\">Reba McEntire<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/tags\/tim-mcgraw\" target=\"_blank\">Tim McGraw<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/tags\/faith-hill\" target=\"_blank\">Faith Hill<\/a> \u2014 died in his sleep on July 10, according to a statement from his wife Tonya. He was 64 years old.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He so loved making music with his Nashville family,&#8221; she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jimmy.nichols2\/posts\/pfbid02nPmUrq1DH5Yzc1uGDiWMCxDeSH2YpsSiuKiiJpSYm4eNxP3mKURUWSTw2rp9EZJGl\" target=\"_blank\">wrote<\/a> on his Facebook page. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have any words right now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Dozens more chimed in on social media to share memories of Nichols and his legendary career in country music, which also included work with <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/tags\/carrie-underwood\" target=\"_blank\">Carrie Underwood<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/tags\/keith-urban\" target=\"_blank\">Keith Urban<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/tags\/mindy-mccready\" target=\"_blank\">Mindy McCready<\/a> and Elton John, among many others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Remembering Jimmy Nichols<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jimmy Nichols was raised in Columbus, Ohio, and\u00a0learned to play piano on his father&#8217;s instrument when he was\u00a09 years old. Music was a common family trait: He spent two-and-a-half decades touring with the Nichols Brothers, alongside three out of his seven siblings.<\/p>\n<p>He moved to Nashville in the &#8217;90s, where he began working as a keyboardist for acts like <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/tags\/daryle-singletary\" target=\"_blank\">Daryle Singletary<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/tags\/mindy-mccready\" target=\"_blank\">Mindy McCready<\/a>. He\u00a0also worked as McCready&#8217;s producer and they had a close professional relationship; Nichols <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyherald.com\/20130307\/entertainment\/old-friends-turn-out-for-mindy-mccready-memorial\/\" target=\"_blank\">spoke at her memoria<\/a>l after her death in 2013.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Read More<\/em>: <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/country-stars-who-died-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\">Remembering the Country Stars Who Died in 2026<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nichols toured with several of country&#8217;s biggest stars and also worked with some artists outside the genre, including Gladys Knight and Elton John. Though his biggest success was as a backing musician, he never lost a headliner&#8217;s sensibility due to the years he&#8217;d spent on tour with his\u00a0family band.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Touring was always in my blood,&#8221; he told\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yamaha.com\/allaccess\/artists\/issue23-nichols_jimmy.asp?issue=issue23\" target=\"_blank\">Yamaha All Access<\/a><\/em> in 2012. &#8220;I always consider myself an entertainer because of all those years I spent with the Brothers. When I get onstage, I hold nothing back. As a keyboard player, I try to be as entertaining and visual as I can.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Jimmy Nichols Hit a Big Career Milestone Just Weeks Before His Death<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Nicols was inducted into the Ohio Country Music Hall of Fame this summer, just two weeks before he died. Bass player Larry Paxton was inducted at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>On social media, Nichols thanked his family for their support of his musical career, and noted that his mother and father &#8220;called me the quiet one when I was young.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not as quiet anymore, but there&#8217;s still a lot of music in me,&#8221; he reflected. &#8220;Thank you Lord Jesus for this\u00a0incredible blessing and thank you all for the wonderful thoughts.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Jimmy Nichols&#8217; Final Shows Were a Church Service + a Benefit For His Wife<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Nichols spent the last few years caring for his wife Tonya, who is facing health challenges and needs a lung transplant. On June 25, He played at a benefit event raising funds for her medical care, billed as Every Breath She Takes, at Nashville venue 3rd &amp; Lindsley.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/standing-with-tonya-through-her-health-crisis?attribution_id=sl:bf352a6c-2107-4631-a60e-5009ca1b005d&amp;lang=en_US&amp;ts=1784044964&amp;utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&amp;utm_content=amp20_t1&amp;utm_medium=customer&amp;utm_source=copy_link\" target=\"_blank\">GoFundMe<\/a> has been established for Tonya&#8217;s medical care, especially in the wake of Nichols&#8217; death.<\/p>\n<p>Singer David Pack, who worked with Nichols for years, later reflected on that night, saying that no one knew at the time that it would also have &#8220;an unexpected second purpose: It also became Jimmy&#8217;s farewell.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Pack also said that Nichols played a show in church the day of his death.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Last night he played at a church service in Franklin, Tenn., then went home and passed in his sleep,&#8221; he reflects. &#8220;His final performance beautifully reflecting his faith. Rest in heavenly peace my brother, you have earned it. I&#8217;ll miss you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Memorial Information For Jimmy Nichols<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Jimmy Nichols&#8217; death was seemingly unexpected. No cause of death has yet been shared.<\/p>\n<p>A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held at <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/tags\/ray-stevens\" target=\"_blank\">Ray Stevens<\/a>&#8216; CabaRay Showroom on Sept. 2 at 6:30PM.<\/p>\n<div class=\"photogallery-wrapper blog-photogallery \">\n<h2 class=\"photogallery-title\">Remembering the Country Stars Who Died in 2026<\/h2>\n<div class=\"photogallery-description\">\n<p>So far in 2026, country fans have mourned the deaths of a few of their favorite musicians and other large-looming figures of pop culture. Keep reading to remember the singers, musicians, actors and other notable figures we&#8217;ve lost so far this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"photogallery-credit\">Gallery Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/author\/cliptak\" target=\"_blank\">Carena Liptak<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/popcrush.com\/rest\/carbon\/api\/scripts.js?mver=63&#038;gver=10&#038;bid=252&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fbtloader.com%2Ftag%3Fo%3D5642230212591616%26upapi%3Dtrue&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.p-n.io%2Fpushly-sdk.min.js%3Fdomain_key%3DQt0jyGgiLtltNrdtnDzncATqSK9PT5Eib9iw&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Ftownsquare.media%2Fpublic%2Fresources%2Fjs%2Fpubcid.min.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fplatform.twitter.com%2Fwidgets.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fapis.google.com%2Fjs%2Fplatform.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.facebook.net%2Fen_US%2Fsdk.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.pinterest.com%2Fjs%2Fpinit.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\" async defer data-osano=\"ESSENTIAL\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jimmy Nichols \u2014 a session player and musical director who worked with Nashville greats like Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill \u2014 died in his sleep on July 10, according to a statement from his wife Tonya. He was 64 years old. &#8220;He so loved making music with his Nashville family,&#8221; she wrote on&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/204\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-jimmynichols.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}