She was a singer-songwriter and producer who started her career in Orange County, California, in the 1960s.
In 1964 she joined John, Bill and Alice McEuen’s bluegrass band followed by becoming half of the duo the Greasy Mountain Butterballs with Kathy Smith who went on a tour of Vietnam in 1966. In 1967 she moved to the San Francisco’s bay area and was a regular performer at many clubs and concerts as well as an opener for acts that included Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Steve Miller and Quicksilver Messenger Service among others.
She would record her first album, Penny’s Arcade, in 1968 and do a promotional tour that took her to Europe and had her recording at the Apple Studios and staying with George Harrison and his wife, Patty.
Once back in the United States she decided to spend her time songwriting and taking voice lessons and then after forming the jazz band Black Imp she performed in Los Angeles from 1975, opening for Little Feat. At the same time her compositions were heard in the advertising world for companies such as Carnation Dairies and Toyota and she also ventured into production with the Navajo Nation’s “Black Mesa”.
In 1977 she became a member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, which saw her appearing in the movie FM and also receiving a platinum record with them for Son of a Son of a Sailor.
She decided to take further education in the late 1970s and after studying music and psychology at Antioch University and Harvard University for several years she received a doctorate in Education. Never ceasing to perform during these years she could still be seen performing and recording and was nominated for a Grammy for her work with Arlo Guthrie on his The Power of Love.
Artists she worked with during the course of her career include Jackson Browne, Albert Brooks, Art Garfunkel, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Danny OKeefe, Suzi Quatro, Mae Robertson, Linda Ronstadt and Jennifer Warnes. She released her second album, All Life is One, in 1990 and Songs of the Jakarta Tales in 1993. Other albums she can be heard on include her own I’ll Never Be That Old Again and Singing for “Tin Ears”, Fate for Breakfast by Art Garfunkel, Someday by Arlo Guthrie, Catskill Collection: compiled by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, and Shot Through the Heart by Jennifer Warnes.
She taught in New York and at the Swannanoa Summer Camp as well as produced the Summersongs conference for songwriters, where she was also a director.
She died in October 2017 when she was 69 years old.
Jimmy Buffett recordings
Cheeseburger in Paradise (Jimmy Buffett)
Sources:
- http://www.pennynichols.com/bio.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Nichols
- http://www.answers.com/topic/penny-nichols?cat=entertainment
- http://www.singers.com/instructional/pennynichols.html
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2807720/
- http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Penny%20Nichols:1927001756
- http://cdbaby.com/cd/pennynichols2