CHET NICHOLS
Creative Media Creation
Creative Director - Content Producer - Composer - Sound Design - Writer - Designer  

Chet Nichols ~ Music Discography




Sunday Morning
by Chet Nichols

01.  Good Times ... 4:01
02.  Sunday Morning ... 3:33
03.  Pennies From Parking Lots ... 4:16
04.  I Know Who You Are ... 4:00
05.  Goodbye Doesn’t Mean Goodbye ... 4:30
06.  Tangled Up In You ... 4:33
07.  A Heartbeat Away ... 3:47
08.  Twenty Years Ago ... 3:56
09.  The Love I Want To Show ... 4:25
10.  The Great Divide ... 4:38
11.  Jezebel ... 4:24

Produced by Chet Nichols for Magic Garage Music
All songs copyrights by
Chet Nichols/Magic Garage Music (ASCAP)
All songs by Chet Nichols 
Copyrights 2011
All Global Rights Reserved
Instrument & Vocal Performances by Chet Nichols
Jewelcase Design by Chet Nichols 
http://www.chetnicholsmusic.com  


Contact Chet  ::   Listen to Chet's Music and this album, "Sunday Morning"

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WALKING IN CIRCLES

A new CD of original material from singer-songwriter, 
Chet Nichols.

Produced & Engineered by Chet Nichols 
for Magic Garage Records
All songs composed by Chet Nichols
All instruments by Chet Nichols
All songs copyrights by Chet Nichols (ASCAP) 
& Magic Garage Music (ASCAP)
Copyrights 2010
Jewel case Design by Chet Nichols 
http://www.chetnicholsmusic.net 

The Songs:
01. Tangled Up In You    4:29
02. Walking In Circles     6.38
03. I Wish That I Could Heal   7:18
04. Six Feet Under   4.44
05. Your Eyes Speak Louder Than Words    4:24
06. Paradise   4.58
07. Smother You     5.11
08. The Secrets Of Life      4.47
09. Hollywood, Hollywood      5.00
10. I Have A Dream    4:52

BREAKING NEWS!
The title tune to the CD, "Walking In Circles" just won the Broadjam.com Lyric Writing 
Contest!

Click here to listen to the song, purchase an MP3 file or CD 

You can listen to some of Chet's music by scrolling 
through the music player below and making a selection.
Or you can listen to ALL of Chet's song in their
entirety at Chet's music site. You can also purchase
CDs and MP3 downloads at Chet's Music Site or at iTunes,
Amazon, eMusic or other fine online download stores.

Click Here To Go To The Music Site.  

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Prairie Harvest
by Chet Nichols

Produced & Engineered by Chet Nichols 
for Magic Garage Records
All songs composed by Chet Nichols
All instruments by Chet Nichols
All songs copyrights by Chet Nichols (ASCAP) 
& Magic Garage Music (ASCAP)
Copyrights 2010
Jewel case Design by Chet Nichols 
http://www.chetnichols.net 

THE SONGS:
01.   (Spinning On The) Time Loop                3:22
02.   Electra                                                   2:28
03.   Waving Prairie                                        5:38
04.   Kites In The County                               7:13
05.   Lumbering Mountain                               3:57
06.   Taxi To Tonganoxie                                2:35
07.   (You've Go The) Keys To My Heart       3:03
08.   Paper Burns                                            2:19
09.   Lucky Man                                              3:57
10. Honky Tonk Rock'n Roll                           3:14
11. Thank You For Breaking My Heart           3:29
12. Modern Progress                                      4:08
13. The Last Riders On Rt. 66                         4:10 
14. Tangled Up In You                                    4:32
15. The Beetles Are Coming                            7:43

This CD is a collection of Chet's most interesting songs.


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PEAK TO PEAK
by Chet Nichols

Produced & Engineered by Chet Nichols 
for Magic Garage Records
All songs composed by Chet Nichols
All instruments by Chet Nichols
All songs copyrights by Chet Nichols (ASCAP) 
& Magic Garage Music (ASCAP)
Copyrights 2008
Jewel case Design by Chet Nichols 
http://www.chetnichols.net 

The Songs:
01.    Kilimanjaro Moon Dance    7:01
02.    Blue Mountain Canyons     4:41
03.    Beijing Dawn       4:38
04.    Berkshire Spring    4:41
05.    Himalayan Borealis     4:15
06.    Colorado Divide      4:32
07.    Highland Healer    7:17
08.    Midnight In The Alps     6:54
09.    Andean Stroll     5:37
10.    Capitola Cliffs     4:56


PEAK TO PEAK is a new instrumental CD from award-winning and Hall-Of-Fame composer and singer-songwriter, Chet Nichols.and is filled with vistas, world grooves and musical flavors.

This CD is a collection of unique instrumental compositions. The concept behind the CD is for the music to depict vistas from around the world in a musical format. This CD shows the versatility of Chet as a composer and arranger. He uses a lot of World Beats, jazz, folk, pop, Latin Celtic and acoustic instrumentation combined with electronic flavors.

We highly suggest that you put on a good pair of earphones and sit back in a comfortable chair and enjoy this CD. We think that you will find this musical collection to be a friendly companion in the early morning, afternoon, evening and late nights under the stars.

Chet's composition, "Beijing Dawn", was awarded a Special Mention Award from The Music Aid International Song Competition. "Beijing Dawn", also went to #1 on the American Idol World Music Charts the second week after its pre-release.

Another composition, "Midnight In The Alps", went to #1 on the Broadjam.com New Age Chart the second week after it's pre-release.

You can listen to some of Chet's music by scrolling through the music player below and making a selection. Or you can listen to ALL of Chet's songs at Chet's music site. You can also purchase CDs and MP3 downloads at Chet's Music Site.
Listen to Chet's Music  ::  Contact Chet  ::  Chet's Website

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EARTHWAYS
by Chet Nichols
THE SONGS
1.  Gibraltar Bridge   9:30
2.  Earthways   8:35
3.  Aegean Trails   10:05
4.  Paris Music Box    7:14
5.  Khyber Pass    8:44
6.  Highways To The Sky   10:50

EARTHWAYS is a follow-up CD to Chet Nichols' critically-acclaimed CD, RED MESA SUNSET. The music was inspired by "the roads of the world". The song, 
"Highways To The Sky", was dedicated to the old Route 66. EARTHWAYS is a wonderful instrumental CD of New Age/World/Fusion/Ambient music.This music is perfect for relaxing, working out, driving or meditating. This CD and RED MESA SUNSET were recently chosen as Top Twelve Picks by the Music Editors at eMusic.com.

CD REVIEW:
EARTHWAYS is different than Chet's RED MESA SUNSET CD in several ways. 
First, the songs are longer. In a music world where we are surrounded by songs in the 3:30 format, Chet creates hypnotic, relaxing atmospheres using a longer format. The songs "grow" as you listen to them. He weaves exotic rhythms with dynamic melodies. Clearly, Nichols has a master's touch when creating his comforting New Age music. What makes Nichols unique in this genre is his use of melodic dynamics and exotic rhythms. His songs build and retreat like waves on the shoreline.This CD has been "locked-in" on my 5 CD player since I first heard it 5 months ago. If you are looking for a CD filled with friendly, soothing music.....look no further.

It doesn't get much better than, 
EARTHWAYS.
.......Pro Internet Song Reviewer


Listen to Chet's Music  ::  Contact Chet  ::  Chet's Website


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Red Mesa Sunset
by Chet Nichols

The Songs
1.    Serengeti Rain  9:16
2.    The Night Train   7:15
3.    Prayer Bucket   4:48
3.    Red Mesa Sunset   9:22
5.    Earth River   6:40
6.    Out Of  The Blue   6:09
7.    Malibu Sunday  8:23

Produced & Engineered by Chet Nichols 
for Magic Garage Records
All songs composed by Chet Nichols  
All instruments by Chet Nichols
All songs copyrights by Chet Nichols (ASCAP)  
and Magic Garage Music (ASCAP)
Copyrights 2006 
Cover design and photos by Chet Nichols

CD REVIEW:
RED MESA SUNSET contains a fine collection of beautiful, delicately developed, hypnotic song themes, with expert ebb and flow dynamics and subtle texture variations. Superb main rhythmic loops with gentle energizing, anticipatory vibes and cascading melodic elements. Excellent organic/tribal/world/jungle sounds and percussive accents. Superb new age soft vibrancy all around! One of the best CDs of it's type that I have ever reviewed. What I really enjoy is that each song is unique, yet stays anchored in a meditative, hypnotic, melodic format. 
For what its worth, Chet Nichols succeeds in his intention to share with his listeners, this elegant and fully optimized body of work-- keep up the great work."
..........Pro Internet review

The song, "Serengeti Rain" was awarded a "Special Mention" award in the prestigious Music Aid International Song Competition. Numerous songs on this CD have been #1and on the Top Ten Music Charts at several respected Internet Music Sites.

Listen to Chet's Music  ::  Contact Chet  ::  Chet's Website

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ONE MAN BAND
by  Chet Nichols

THE SONGS:

1. “I Want To Be Your Hero”
2. “The Last Riders On Route 66”
3. “Modern Progress”
4. “The Love I Want To Show”
5. “Say Your Prayers At Night”
6. “Lucky Man”
7. “Nazareth”
8. “Who Stole The Ivy”
9. “Keys To My Heart”
10. “Thank You For Breaklng My Heart”
11. “Honky Tonk Rock ‘n Roll”
12. “Double Margarita”
13. “Intimate Affection”
14. “When I Think About You”
15. “Your Eyes Speak Louder Than Words” **

Produced by Chet Nichols for Magic Garage Records
All Songs by Chet Nichols, except ** by Chet Nichols & Lu Gideon
All Songs Copyrights by Chet Nichols/Magic Garage Music (ASCAP)
All vocals and instruments by Chet Nichols
All Rights Reserved

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MODERN PROGRESS
by Chet Nichols

THE SONGS:

01. “Modern Progress”
02. “The Last Riders On Route 66”
03. “A Heartbeat Away”
04. “Hollywood, Hollywood”
05. “Intimate Affection”
06. “The Love I Want To Show”
07. “Six Feet Under”
08. “The Night Train”
09. “The Secrets Of Life”
10. “The Mother Road”
11. “My New Son”
12. “Out Of The Blue (The Serendipity Song)“

Produced & Engineered by Chet Nichols
for Magic Garage Records
All Music and lyrics by Chet Nichols
All vocals and instruments by Chet Nichols
All Songs Copyrights by Chet Nichols/Magic Garage Music (ASCAP)
Cover design by Chet Nichols
All Photos by Chet Nichols
Copyright 2003 by Chet Nichols
All Rights Reserved

MODERN PROGRESS is a CD dedicated to Route 66. The songs, "The Last Riders On Rt. 66" and "The Mother Road" won the Grand Prize in The Route 66 International Theme Song Contest. "The Last Riders On Rt. 66" was called "....the best new song about Route 66 in a generation."

You can listen to some of Chet's music by scrolling through the music player below and making a selection. Or you can listen to ALL of Chet's song in their entirety at Chet's music site. You can also purchase CDs and MP3 downloads at Chet's Music Site.

Click Here To Go To The Music Site.  

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LUCKY MAN
by Chet Nichols

THE SONGS:
01. “I‘m A Lucky Man” 3:08
02. “I Want The Best We Can Give” 3:15
03. “Thank You For Breakin’ My Heart” 3:30
04. “Two Hearts Of Gold” 3:30
05. “Keys To My Heart” 3:10
06. “Nazareth” 3:55
07. “I Miss Your Fire” 4:20
08. “Honky Tonk Rock‘n Roll” 3:10
09. “Say Your Prayers At Night” 3:55
10. “Double Margarita” 3:20
11. “When I Think About You” 6:15
12. “I Want To Be Your Hero” 3:25
All Lyrics & Music by Chet Nichols
All vocals & Instruments by Chet Nichols
Produced and engineered by Chet Nichols
Cover design by Chet Nichols
Photo by Paul Sherman
All Songs Copyrights by Chet Nichols and Magic Garage Music (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.


"LUCKY MAN" is a the culmination of several years work by Chet Nichols. He plays all the instruments, sings all the songs, wrote all the songs, produced and engineered this CD. So, unlike Chet's first several albums, this has a "band" feeling throughout. Many of the songs on the CD fall into the Alternative-Country/Americana genre. Listening to the songs the listener is treated to some very fun and memorable tunes.

The lyrics are visual and the characters and situations familiar, but with a twist. The songs are hooky and memorable and will have you quickly humming along
with them. Enjoy!

You can listen to some of Chet's music by scrolling through the music player below and making a selection. Or you can listen to ALL of Chet's song in their
entirety at Chet's music site. You can also purchase CDs and MP3 downloads at Chet's Music Site.

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WAVING PRAIRIE
by Chet Nichols

WAVING PRAIRIE is the long-awaited follow-up release to Chet's
critically-acclaimed and ground-breaking album, TIME LOOP.

It is filled with many endearing songs. His imagery, melodies and unique guitar tunings really shine on these tracks. Besides, playing many of the instruments on this CD, Chet and producer, Stephen Barncard bring in the "Who's Who" of San Francisco's best players and musicians to back Chet up on several songs. There
are also many songs with just Chet and his guitar which show his real strengths as a songwriter, musician and singer and re-affirm Chet's reputation as one of the key contributors and premier examples of the singer/songwriters of the 60's and 70's.

Chet continues to this day writing, producing and creating great songs

Chet's song, "Waving Prairie", was recently awarded the Grand Prize in Broadjam.com's Folk Song Contest. This the title tune to this CD.

The Songs:

01. Waving Prairie 5:40
02. Lady, Oh, Lady 3:13
03. Lumbering Mountain 3:58
04. Kites In The Country 7:15
05. Cloud Show 5:00
06. Judas Spy 3:45
07. Old Friends  4:05
08. Backstage 5:02
09. Earth River  5:31
10. Snow Line 4:31
11. Hawk market 3:21
12. Paradise 3:14
13. Red Tide 5:14
14. Lady, Oh, Lady (reprise) 3:13

All lyrics & music by Chet Nichols.
Produced by Stephen Barncard and Chet Nichols
Engineered by Stephen Barncard.
Recorded at Wally Heider’s in San Francisco in 1973-74
Cover design & Cover Photo by Chet Nichols

Copyright 2001 by Chet Nichols & Magic Garage Productions
All songs Copyrights by Chet Nichols (ASCAP)
& Magic Garage Music (ASCAP).
All rights reserved.

You can listen to some of Chet's music by scrolling through the music player below and making a selection. Or you can listen to ALL of Chet's song in their entirety at Chet's music site. You can also purchase CDs and MP3 downloads at Chet's Music Site.

Click Here To Go To The Music Site.  


CD REVIEWS of  WAVING PRAIRIE:        

WAVING PRAIRIE - A Review

"After having read my TIME LOOP review, Chet Nichols sent me a copy of the follow up album, WAVING PRAIRIE. It was recorded in 1973 and 74, but just prior to the release Chet Nichols got caught in a corporate squabble between Kama Sutra's president and a new owner who had just bought the record company (full details here). This resulted in the record never being released, the most unjust treatment any recording can ever receive. To make matters even worse the new label owners would not let Nichols out of his contract but didn't allow him to record either. This effectively ground his carreer to a halt."

"Chet Nichols finally released WAVING PRAIRIE himself in 2008 on his own small label. As I expected in advance, the album doesn't touch me the same wayTIME LOOP does. After all TIME LOOP quickly became my personal standard to which all classic singer-songwriter & folk-pop releases are now compared. James Tayor, Joni Mitchell, all of those far better known folk artists have to eat quite a lot of TIME LOOP dust. But even Nichols' own later material, including WAVING PRAIRIE,doesn't quite scale the same heights in my opinion."

"Nevertheless this does not mean WAVING PRAIRIE is a weak or a bland record. This is still signature (early) Nichols, but a bit mellower, a bit less dynamic, and maybe also a bit more (even more) introspective. The style hasn't changed. Apart from the addition of horns in a few songs and the slide guitar in'Judas Spy' any of these songs could easily pose as a TIME LOOP track. It just wouldn't have been one of the standouts."

"Since I feel the vocal melodies on general have less instant appeal this means that the album doesn't have the same ability to captivate you from the start. WAVING PRAIRIE is more the kind of record that will grow on you over time."

"As far as instant impact is concerned the crescendo in 'Earth River' and the title song itself are still impressive. The title track especially, with that surprising almost Oriental vocal harmony in the middle (that sadly isn't repeated) and the ethnic drums and with its fluent and slightly intricate (almost progressive) structure, is quite breathtaking and deservedly won the "Best Folk Song Contest" at Broadjam.com."

"On a finishing note my guess is that if you enjoyed the TIME LOOP, WAVING PRAIRIE, will please you as well. In fact, I think WAVING PRAIRIE feels like a companion album to TIME LOOP. So if you don't know Nichols' music yet (which is most likely the case), go to his site and start with (the must have) TIME LOOP first."

...... Johan, Brussels

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TIME LOOP
by Chet Nichols

The CD....that started it all!

The Songs: 
01. Horses and Eagles
02. Electra
03. Water Sand Castles
04. Who Stole The Ivy
05. Lonely Woman
06. The Ballad Of Diamond Joe
07. (Spinning On The) Time Loop *
08. Tell Me What The Count Is
09. The Offing
10. The Beetles Are Coming
11. Quasar Sleeper

All Music and Lyrics by Chet Nichols.

Produced by Chet Nichols and Stephen Barncard,
except * "Time Loop" produced by Nick Gravenites.
Engineered by Stephen Barncard.

Instruments on all songs played by Chet Nichols except 
on “Time Loop” as follows: 
Piano-Nicky Hopkins 
Drums-Dave Garibaldi
Electric Guitar-Leo Collignon 
Bass-PeteSears
Guitar-Chet Nichols
Recorded in ‘72 at Wally Heider’s in San Francisco, CA.
Photography by Gary Petersen.
Cover Design by Chet Nichols and Gary Petersen

Old photos from the record session: 
http://wallyheider.com/gallery/Chet_Nichols

All songs published by Time Loop Music/Magic Garage Music (ASACP), 
Copyright by Magic Garage Productions. 
All rights reserved. 



"Time Loop" record review

Chet Nichols : Time Loop 
(Kama Sutra - 1972)
Category : criminally overlooked 
4,33 stars

If you're into smart and poetic Folky singer/songwriter stuff, 
then this obscure release is a must have because of the high 
quality of the songs and the driven yet pleasant way in which 
they are performed. But as several of these Chet Nichols songs 
also have doses of Rock, I guess the album could also be of 
interest to fans of Classic Rock and Folk Rock.

'Time Loop' has a pure and honest and at the same time 
slightly melancholic feel that's reminiscent of James Taylor
or, to name someone more recent, José Gonzales. And it's 
just as good as the best material either of these artists 
released, which raises the question why this album didn't 
get the attention it deserved and why it didn't propel Nichols 
to stardom. One listen to the album highlights 'Electra' and 
'Who stole the Ivy' is enough to make you understand what 
a gifted composer and lyricist he was. In fact, there's only 
one average track on the entire album (not counting the 
superfluous outro 'Quasar Sleeper').

Highly recommended. 



Link to this review......


A RECORD REVIEW:
“Time Loop” – a review

“Amongst the obscurest LPs on the Kama-Sutra label, bent 
loner outsider folkie like a disturbed Tim Buckley at times, 
has a raw underground edge that it gaining a big following 
with collectors. But it is still a bargain having been released 
in the waning days of this semi-major label. Weird song titles 
like "Who Stole The Ivy", "The Offing", "The Beetles Are 
Coming", “Water Sand Castles” and "Quasar Sleeper, give 
an indication that this guy was out there. But he makes the 
acoustic guitar really sing and he creates some of the most 
unique guitar tunings ever created. His voice is melodious 
and multi-faceted. His lyrics are spacey, yet, thoughtful in an 
abstract way. The lyrics are borderline poetry. This record 
really grows on you. Chet’s Co-Producer and Engineer, 
Stephen Barncard, states at his website that Nichols was 
his guinea pig to help create the acoustic guitar sound made 
famous by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Nichols is also 
quite a musician and plays all the instruments on this record, 
something very rare in the early 1970s. He combines a Richie 
Havens feel, a Donovan attitude with a Dylan prespective. 
The production is minimalist, yet dynamic. On the title tune, 
"Time Loop", he has San Francisco's Nick Gravenites 
producing and he brings in a back-up band that includes piano 
by Nicky Hopkins (Rolling Stones-RIP), drums by 
Dave Garabaldi (Tower Of Power) and bass by Peter Sears 
(The Airplane). Quite a supporting cast. The record was 
recorded at Wally Heider's studio in SF, so maybe he's outta 
California. This is a necessary LP for fans of outside folk, 
since Nichols appears to be one of the pioneers of this unique 
genre. I caught a concert that he played at Long Island University 
and he was the best solo performer I saw play back in the 1970’s.”



A RECORD REVIEW:
"TIME LOOP is one of the BEST FOLK PSYCHEDELIC ALBUMS 
EVER MADE!
Thank you CHET for this KILLER ALBUM.
Warm Regards,

Miguel - Germany"

Listen to Chet's Music  :: Contact Chet  ::  Chet's Website

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BLACK & WHITE
by Chet Nichols

“Black & White” is a CD of the solo, live show by Chet Nichols at the legendary Cowtown Ballroom in Kansas City, MO on the evening of January 9, 1972. Chet was the Opening Act that evening for the esteemed Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra. This show marked the first time a Philharmonic Orchestra had ever performed in a rock’n roll venue. The CD also contains some “bonus tracks” from another “live” performance he did for a TV show on Channel 19 in Kansas City, Mo on the evening of September 11,1973.

Out thanks go out to Chet’s long-time producer, Stephen Barncard for his interest and skill in taking this valuable historical tape and digitizing it, so that it can be preserved for future generations. Although shorter than we’d like, we wished Chet had played a few more songs, Chet’s performance highlights many of the components that personified Chet’s solo shows back then. This CD shows his versatility as a musician, songwriter and singer. He begins the set showing his prowess on harmonica with a harmonica & vocal performance of Chet’s song, “King Barlow. Chet was known to have backed-up Brewer & Shipley on harmonica when they toured.

Chet then shifts to the song, ”Judas Spy”, where he shows his mastery playing bottleneck guitar. The next song, “Waving Prairie”, displays one of Chet’s special talents, creating unique guitar tunings. He then proceeds to playing one of his most popular songs, “Electra”. Then Chet does a fabulous job performing one of his signature songs from the 60’s and 70’s, the iconic blues tune, “I’m The Ice Cream Man”. This is the ONLY surviving concert performance of this classic tune. Finally, Chet continues to show his versatility as a musician and performer when he switches to piano to perform his classic rock tune, “Time Loop”. And there is more.

After the performances were over and the crowd had left, Chet returned to the stage to re-record the song, “Time Loop”. This second rendition is included on, “Black & White”.

The conductor of the Kansas City Philharmonic was so impressed by Chet’s musicianship, voice and song writing, he invited Chet to meet with him later that week. They discussed a “rock ‘n roll marriage” of some of Chet’s more modular and classical tunes with the Philharmonic backing Chet up on stage. As a token of his appreciation, the conductor gave Chet one of the ornate, gold-leaf music stands used by the Philharmonic, a working antique that Chet cherishes and uses to this day.

Unfortunately, this “show” was never produced.



In addition to songs from the Cowtown Ballroom show, we were also able to salvage three songs, performed by Chet for a live TV show at Channel 19 on the evening of September 11,1973. We start this section on the CD with the humorous song, “My Baby’s Bringing In The Dough”. It features some great guitar and nifty harmonica and, as Chet puts it, “it’s a song about the ups and downs of being a musician”. Next, Chet performs, “The Train, Plane Blues”, another humorous song lamenting the transportation problems faced by musicians when they tour. This cut features Chet on piano and, again, playing some wicked harmonica to back-up a solid vocal performance. Finally, this section ends with the hypnotic and airy, “Kites In The Country”, a song from his second CD, “Waving Prairie”.

When coming up with a title for this CD, Chet settled on “Black & White” because of the straightforward, artistically honest nature of his performance. In Chet’s words, “what you hear is what you get”.

We are very confident that if you are a fan of Chet’s and/or a fan of unique singer-songwriters of the 60’s and 70’s that you will find great value in adding this CD to your music collection.

We hope you enjoy the CD!


Listen To Chet's Music   ::   Contact Chet

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RAW 'N ROLL
by Chet Nichols & The Chosen Few


THE SONGS
1.  Play With Fire              02:23
2.  You Made me Cry        03:12*
3.  Summer Love               03:11*
4.  Stay Away                    03:20*
5.  Bye Bye Love               03:25
6.  Johnny B. Goode          03:01
7.  Great Balls Of Fire       02:22

Executive Produced by Chet Nichols and Stephen Barncard for Magic Garage Productions

Re-mastered and digitized by Stephen Barncard, House Of Cubes, SF, CA

Produced by Chet Nichols, Tom Peck, Wayne Welch Jeff Weinstein and Bill Bradley

Engineered by Bill Bradley in 1964 in his 3-story home in Wilmette, Il

* Songs composed by Chet Nichols. Copyrights by Chet Nichols (ASCAP)

Special thanks to Stephen Barncard, Greg Welch, Susan Peck MacDonald, Mrs. Nichols, Phil Hagenah, Mr. and Mrs Hagenah, and Mrs. Peck  for their time and contributions

Dedicated to the memory of  Thomas O. Peck, Jeffrey Weinstein and Bill Bradley

Copyright 2007 by Chet Nichols.  All Rights Reserved. Cover design and photos by Chet Nichols



L to R: Chet, Jeff and Tom "live" at
Winnetka's "Rolling Stone"....

Record Review

Forget "Ten Years After" with Alvin Lee,  how about "Forty Three Years After with 
The Chosen Few"!

Chicagoland's Quintessential Mid-Sixties Rock Band

Like discovering a diamond in the rough, Musician Extraodinare Chet Nichols
unearthed a long thought lost 1964 taping of his band The Chosen Few. Thanks to 
Chet's perseverance,  he had it re-lobotimized, cleaned up and digitized, reproduced 
and packaged.  Considering the primitive conditions under which it was recorded on 
1/2 inch tap, as well as it's forty three years of entombment in a long lost music 
graveyard, the sonic clarity and quality remained intact!  Chet must have employed a 
kitchen magician, the ghost of Houdini,  and a clone of George Martin, the producer 
of The Beatles, to bring this baby back to life.  (Actually it was Chet's buddy and David Crosby producer, Stephen Barncard).

Thank the Music Gods for miracles.

What we have before us now folks, is the only known recording of one the hottest 
mid-sixities bands to grace the Chicagoland area and The North Shore.  This band 
had a following that always backed the venues where they played.  In spite of the 
young age of the members of the band (17-18), they displayed a sense of musical professionalism, far beyond their years.  Additionally, their vocal talents were top 
notch, and balanced in true harmony.  They played the various covers of that era, 
that ran from The Beach Boys to The Stones to The Beatles, and on and on.  
With Tom Peck on bass, Jeff Weinstein on rhythm guitar, Chet Nichols on lead 
guitar and lead vocals, and Wayne Welch on drums, they were a together group with 
a very tight sound. The biggest surprise of the group was Chet Nichols's song writing 
ability, which led him to a long and highly successful career as a highly acclaimed 
performing artist, proficient song writer and well noted author.  Chet's self-penned 
songs on this CD are well written, highly evolved and perfectly vocalized and were a 
highly positive harbinger of things to come for him in his music career. Having seen 
this band blast out their many great songs on many occasions in those music filled 
years,  I now have a piece of music history that I had longed for many a year.  

Anyone from that era needs this CD for their music collector.  In addition, anyone who has ever lived or went to High School in the Chicago area, the North Shore, Wilmette, 
Winnetka, Kenilworth, Evanston and Highland Park, etc, is required to have this 
album.  It's too bad that we don't have any more of the music that The Chosen Few 
played. However, this sonic taste of that time is like a whole musical feast!  Chet, many 
thanks for giving us a piece of the past that we had longed for such a long  time.  It is 
a true Mid-West Musical Masterpiece!.

.......GW, Marquette, MI 


L to R: Jeff, Tom and Chet in the Peck's
basement....

Background Notes About 
The Chosen Few

The Chosen Few was an important rock ’n roll 
“basement band” based on the North Shore of 
Chicago in the early 1960s. Basement band? 
Well, they practiced in basements. All of the 
initial band members attended New Trier High 
School, a school that has spawned many great 
creative artists, musicians, actors and 
producers. The North Shore was a hot spot for 
developing rock’n roll bands and artists in the 
area. The Chosen Few began playing together 
in the Fall of 1963. The co-founders were Chet 
Nichols, who played lead guitar and sang lead 
vocals, and Phil Hagenah, who initially played 
guitar. A friend of Phil’s, Tom Peck, was 
begging to join the band, so Chet and Phil 
taught Tom to play bass and Phil graciously 
moved to the drums. Mark Springer joined to 
play rhythm guitar. Like many bands, there 
were changes in personnel until the final 
nucleus was solidified. Along the way they 
added Wayne Welch on drums and vocals and 
Jeff Weinstein on rhythm guitar and vocals. 
Phil Hagenah, went on to be a very successful 
film producer and Mark Springer went on to be 
a singer in The New Christie Minstrels. 

They were one of the “house bands” at the 
famous Winnetka rock ’n roll nightclub,
The Rolling Stone. What set the band apart 
from other bands was the fact that they played 
originals penned by Chet Nichols and mixed 
them in with danceable cover songs. Chet’s 
songs were influenced by The Beatles, 
The Kinks, The Beach Boys and The Rolling 
Stones. He wrote songs that people still 
remember today; “You Made Me Cry”, 
“Million Dollar Sandbox”,“Stay Away”, 
“Over and Over”, “Summer Love” and 
“If You See Kaye”, to name a few..............


Wayne Welch at his "workbench"......

They played together until the summer of 1967,
when college and the Armed Services finally 
split the band up for good.  Tom Peck headed 
to Boston and lived there for several years until 
migrating to San Diego, where he lived as a 
free-lance writer and cared for his mother until 
June 2005 when he passed away. Jeff 
Weinstein moved to Colorado and played in 
bands in the Boulder area until he passed 
away in the 1980’s from complications of 
diabetes. Wayne Welch went into the Army 
and took his basic training near Oklahoma 
City where Chet first attended college. Wayne 
now lives in Bonanza,Oregon and his band, 
"The Usual Suspects" plays in the Klamath Falls, 
Oregon area. Wayne has two sons, T.J., a bank 
executive in Illinois and Bob, an artist. Chet 
transferred to Kansas University and was 
“discovered” in a coffee house in Kansas City. 
This led him into a long-running solo career as 
a performer, recording artist, singer, songwriter, 
multi-instrumentalist, actor, writer, designer and 
composer that is still going strong. Chet has 
produced 11 CDs of material that runs from 
Outside Folk Rock to Americana to Alternative 
Country to New Age/World Fusion Instrumental 
compositions. Chet has been married for 27 
years to Nancy and they have two sons, 
Chet III,  a system administrator and web 
developer at AOL and Ben, a college student........


Tom Peck working-it-out on bass....

Chet thought he had lost this tape, but found it 
in a box of old tapes stored in his garage in 
December of 2006, He turned to his old friend 
and respected San Francisco producer, Stephen 
Barncard, to salvage the tape and digitize it. The 
tape was recorded on a 1/2 machine and is 
in mono. It was engineered and recorded by 
Bill Bradley in his 3-story house in Wilmette 
one Saturday afternoon. Bill went on to being 
one of the best engineers in the music business, 
eventually working with Madonna and running 
her record company.

There is distortion and a raw feel to this tape 
because the pre-amps on the mixing board were 
not built for loud drums and amplifiers and The 
Chosen Few played loud AND fast. But the vocals 
are clear and out front. This CD is un-cut and 
un-edited. It is an honor to be able to bring to 
you this little gem of the history of an important 
band that was part of such a vibrant and exciting 
time of emerging music in the 1960’s........


Jeff Weinstein relaxing in the Peck's kitchen.

We want to send out very special thanks of 
appreciation to Stephen Barncard, Greg Welch, 
Susan Peck MacDonald and Mrs. Peck for 
their time, enthusiasm and contributions to this 
production. Their help has truly enriched 
this project.

Also thanks to Mr. Hagenah, Mr. and Mrs. Peck 
and Mrs. Nichols for letting the band practice in 
their basements, drink cokes and empty the ice 
boxes of food. Also, thanks to Mrs. Bradley for
letting us trample her beautiful home in East
Wilmette on one fateful Saturday afternoon.

This CD is dedicated to the memory of 
Tom Peck, Jeff Weinstein and Bill Bradley.

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