Roy Nichols

Roy Ernest Nichols (October 21, 1932 – July 3, 2001) was an American country music guitarist best known as the lead guitarist for Merle Haggard's band The Strangers for more than two decades. He was known for his guitar technique, a mix of fingerpicking and pedal steel-like bends, usually played on a Fender Telecaster electric guitar. Nichols is considered one of the founders of the country music subgenre the “Bakersfield Sound”, which includes such notable country artists as Haggard, Buck Owens, and Don Rich. Quotes about Roy Nichols Merle Haggard’s band had a roll call of great players over the years, but perhaps nobody brought more Telecaster magic to the Strangers than Arizona guitarist Roy Nichols, whose deft chicken pickin’, pedal steel-like bends and jazz-inflected chromatic tonality made him a sophisticated musical foil for Haggard’s own hard-edged Telecaster chops. Mike Duffy and Jeff Owens of Fender External links Category:Guitarists from the United States Category:Musicians from Arizona Category:1932 births Category:2001 deaths