Jimmy Nichols
born James Ginnetti, raised in Columbus, Ohio where he and his 7 brothers and sisters shared a musical upbringing with their father, pianist, Joey “Nichols” Ginnetti, and their mom, Marion. Their father died suddenly from cancer leaving their mother, Marion to raise her family alone.
The four brothers started playing music professionally when Jimmy was only ten years old. The band, the Nichols Brothers, successfully toured for 24 years until a potential record deal brought them to Nashville in 1994.
Working in a recording studio that was co-owned by Grammy-winning producer/songwriter David Malloy proved fateful when David, through the advise of session bass player Spady Brannon, started using Jimmy on all his recording sessions. Jimmy quickly became one of the busiest session players in Nashville. His first master session was with David Malloy on Mindy McCready’s debut album, playing keyboards and singing all of the background vocals on 9 of the 10 album cuts. The debut album sold over 2 million copies.
His credit list includes recordings with Elton John, Lee Ann Womack, Reba McEntire, Andy Griggs, Mindy McCready, Billy Gilman, BJ Thomas, Keith Urban, Lonestar, Jo Dee Messina, and most recently Faith Hill.
Jimmy has toured for over 4 years with Reba McEntire on keys and as musical director. He has recently completed a national tour on keyboards and as musical director for the "Soul 2 Soul II" Tour, featuring Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, which has become the biggest country tour in world history. Jimmy has appeared in two movies, as well as The Late Show with David Letterman, Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America, Today, Ellen, Oprah, and performed on numerous national TV specials including “Christmas In Washington” for President Bush, and the 2008 Inauguration ceremonies.