Billy Nichols

Who is Billy Nichols?

Billy Nichols was one of nine children born to Laura Bell and Tom Sanders in Carrollton, Mississippi. They were a farming family. At the end of the work day, Billy's father played blues on the guitar. Billy and his family gathered on the porch to listen. Billy would play the guitar when his father was not home. Billy's favorite blues artist was Muddy Waters. He was also influenced by the likes of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Louis Jordan, Hank Williams, the Blindboys of Mississippi, and many, many other artists that he heard on the radio.

When he was 14, the family moved to Springfield, Massachusetts. Billy joined the high school band and played in a local band with his brother Ernest, Lyn Perry and Bob Burgess. After high school, he joined the gospel group The Bells of Harmony and traveled from church to church.

Billy then joined Jimmy Vick and The Victors. After they recorded a single in 1963, they had their picture in Billboard Magazine and got some local radio airplay. However, by November, the group broke up. In 1964, Billy went to Detroit to live with his brother with his guitar.