Roger Nichols, Grammy-Nominated Co-Writer of ‘We’ve Only Just Begun,’ Dies at 84

Roger Nichols, best-known for co-writing such Carpenters hits as “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays” and “I Won’t Last a Day Without You” with lyricist Paul Williams, died on May 17. He was 84.

Williams confirmed Nichols’ death in an extended, and deeply affectionate, post on Instagram. Williams didn’t list a cause of death, though he reported the basic circumstances of the death. “Roger Nichols passed away peacefully four days ago, at home with his beautiful family …his wife Terry and the daughters he was so proud of, Claire and Caitlin at his side.” (See full text of Williams Instagram post below.)

Nichols signed as an artist to A&M Records in 1968, a year before Karen and Richard Carpenter were signed to the Los Angeles-based label. His debut album Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends was produced by Tommy LiPuma, engineered by Bruce Botnick, and featured session contributions from Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman and Lenny Waronker. Although the album failed to crack the Billboard 200, A&M co-founder Herb Alpert thought there was something there and recommended that Nichols be hired by A&M’s publishing company as a staff songwriter. It was during this period that he was introduced to Williams.

That was a characteristically astute call on Alpert’s part. Williams and Nichols were one of the hottest pop songwriting teams of the early 1970s.

Williams and Nichols took off as songwriters in the fall of 1970, when they had two songs in the top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. On the charts dated Oct. 17 and 24, Carpenters’ version of “We’ve Only Just Begun,” a ballad which had originated as “soft-sell” commercial for Crocker-Citizens National Bank, was in the top five (on its way to a No. 2 peak). Three Dog Night’s “Out in the Country” was holding at its No. 15 peak.

The Carpenters smash, an instant standard, was lushly romantic. The Three Dog Night hit was a fresh-sounding mix of pop, rock and folk. Having two simultaneous hits by two different acts in two different styles caught the industry’s attention. “We’ve Only Just Begun” went on to receive two Grammy nominations – for song of the year and best contemporary song — at the first live Grammy telecast in March 1971. (It lost both awards to Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”) The Carpenters’ recording of the song was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.

Williams and Nichols continued writing songs for the Carpenters, including “Rainy Days and Mondays,” a superb and remarkably adult ballad which reached No. 2 (it took Carole King’s letter-perfect “It’s Too Late” to keep it out of the top spot), “Let Me Be the One” (another first-rate ballad that the duo never got around to releasing as a single), and “I Won’t Last a Day Without You,” a 1972 album track that was finally released as a single in 1974, when it climbed to No. 11.

Barbra Streisand covered “I Won’t Last a Day Without You” on her ButterFly album later in 1974. On her following album, Lazy Afternoon, she recorded another Williams-Nichols song, “I Never Had It So Good.” Both of those albums went gold.

Art Garfunkel recorded a tender Williams-Nichols song, “Traveling Boy,” for his first solo album, 1973’s Angel Clare, which made the top 10 on the Billboard 200. The song was released as the third single from the album, and bubbled under the Hot 100.

Nichols also had some successes with other collaborators. He teamed with William Lane to write “Times of Your Life,” which Paul Anka recorded in 1975. Like “We’ve Only Just Begun,” this song was also adapted from a popular TV commercial – for Kodak. Anka’s recording reached No 7 on the Hot 100 in February 1976.

Nichols retired soon afterwards, but his songs live on. R.E.M. covered “Out in the Country” as a B-side for their 2003 single “Bad Day.” Rumer covered “Traveling Boy” on her 2012 album Boys Don’t Cry.

Nichols was honored during Florida Chapter Presents The Recording Academy Honors 2006 at Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami.

He was nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Nov. 12, for the class that will be inducted on June 12. He wasn’t elected (the competition is fierce every year), but the ballot listed the five songs that are probably his most famous and enduring: “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “I Won’t Last a Day Without You,” “Out in the Country,” “Times of Your Life”

In a comment on Williams’ Instagram post, Nichols’ daughter Claire wrote, “My mom, Terri, and my sisters, Caroline and Caitlin, are all so proud of the man he was, and are in awe of the legacy he leaves.”

Here’s the full text of Williams’ Instagram post announcing Nichols’ death.

“The first song, Roger Nichols and I wrote was called “it’s hard to say goodbye. “… Sadly, we hit the nail on the head. Roger Nichols passed away peacefully four days ago, at home with his beautiful family …his wife Terry and the daughters he was so proud of, Claire and Caitlin at his side. They were his dream come true. His greatest joy

“Roger was my writing partner and my music school… a collaborator
for years and a friend for life. I was an out of work actor looking for a career in music when I was signed by A&M records publishing. They were looking for a lyricist for Roger Nichols. An industrial strength, lucky break that changed my life.

“We wrote almost every day for several years. He was as disciplined as he was talented. I had the attention span of a sea otter… I was ready for a break after three hours and Roger would plunge ahead for another four or five. The words were born of the beauty in his completed melodies.
I wrote what I heard, note for note…word for word. The lyrics waiting in the emotion already in his music. He made it easy.

“After many wonderful productive years, I wanted us to write songs for movies. He had another dream. He said I wanna go fishing … wanna go back to Montana. He smiled and said something about having a family and maybe making a home by a nice little river… it was clear that he was already gone. A few years ago, I visited him and met Terry and the girls at the house by the river …and I knew he found his dream.

“One last story. Roger was really excited when his daughter Caitlin was getting married last September. He chuckled and asked, “can you picture me wheeling down the aisle in my wheelchair, holding my daughter’s hand?”

“Of course, I said yes then …. and right now Roger, I can picture thousands of proud dads and their beautiful daughters that walked down the aisle to your gorgeous music or danced their father and daughter dance to We’ve only just begun… picture them standing and applauding what you brought to their lives and to mine. You brought love and beauty into this world, and we will never forget you.

In gratitude with much love… Paul”