Photo: Tonya Ginnetti | By Carina Liptak, The Boot || Jimmy Nichols — a session player and musical director who worked with Nashville greats like Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill — died in his sleep on July 10, according to a statement from his wife Tonya. He was 64 years old.
“He so loved making music with his Nashville family,” she wrote on his Facebook page. “I don’t have any words right now.”
Dozens more chimed in on social media to share memories of Nichols and his legendary career in country music, which also included work with Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Mindy McCready and Elton John, among many others.
Remembering Jimmy Nichols
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A GoFundMe has been established for Tonya’s medical care, especially in the wake of Nichols’ death. (See below)
Singer David Pack, who worked with Nichols for years, later reflected on that night, saying that no one knew at the time that it would also have “an unexpected second purpose: It also became Jimmy’s farewell.”
Pack also said that Nichols played a show in church the day of his death.
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A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held at Ray Stevens‘ CabaRay Showroom on Sept. 2 at 6:30PM.
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Read more of Mr. Nichols’ life here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/jimmy-nichols-session-player-who-worked-with-reba-mcentire-more-dead-at-64/
A GoFundMe has been established for Tonya’s medical care, especially in the wake of Nichols’ death.
My name is James Ginnetti [a/k/a Jimmy Nichols] and I’m raising Funds for my wife, Tonya Ginnetti. My wife was a healthy 56-year-old woman who never had a real medical problem in her entire life. She’s spent most of her life working in the music industry and banking, and recently took a job at a local bank in Nashville. Within a month or so of working there, she started experiencing distress from something in the environment — possibly mold, which she’s very sensitive to. Unfortunately, the bank didn’t take her concerns seriously, and her symptoms quickly worsened. She developed a persistent cough, and after a year and a half, she was put on Workmen’s Comp and eventually hospitalized for 10 days at Vanderbilt while doctors tried to figure out what was wrong.
After more than a year of uncertainty, she was finally diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis and organizing pneumonia. She’s been unable to work since November, and although she receives some money from Workmen’s Comp, it’s only half of what she was making and isn’t enough to cover our bills. I had retired from the music industry, never expecting something like this to happen to us. Now, with our savings depleted and no way to know how long she’ll be unable to work, we’re facing the possibility of losing our home. Our in-laws, who are in their late 80s, live with us and would have nowhere to go if we lost the house. As much as I dreaded this, I’ve decided to reach out to friends and future friends for help. We’ve always tried to help others through difficult times, and I never thought we’d be the ones asking. But here we are. I want my wife to get better, and I hope the legal system will eventually help, but right now, we just need to keep our home and pay the bills. Please help if you can—your support means the world to us.
Photo: Tonya Ginnette | From the GoFundMe page
