Roger Nichols, born in Missoula, MT, is a Grammy-nominated composer and songwriter. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays violin, guitar, bass, and piano.

Nichols co-wrote many songs with lyricist Paul Williams including "We've Only Just Begun" recorded by The Carpenters, which was nominated for a Grammy for Song of the Year. It was also included on BMI's million performances list, and received an award for selling a million copies of sheet music.

Another Nichols-Williams song, "Out in the Country" by Three Dog Night and later by R.E.M., landed in the Top Ten. Six months later, "Rainy Days and Mondays" was another gold record by The Carpenters and Nichols' third gold record in a single year.

Other hits were The Carpenters' "I Won't Last a Day Without You", "Travelin' Boy", and "I Never Had It So Good" covered by Barbra Streisand. He also scored the theme song from Hart to Hart.

Nichols released a Japan only CD in 1995 called "Roger Nichols and a Circle of Friends--Be Gentle With My Heart", featuring vocalist Sheila O'Connell-Roussell, on which he recorded some of his best known tunes including "We've Only Just Begun", "I Won't Last a Day Without You", and "Rainy Days and Mondays" (which features Paul Williams on guest vocal).

He also released a Japan only CD in 2007 with the original Small Circle of Friends called "Full Circle" which brought together the group to cover many of Nichols hits for other bands, including "Out in the Country" and "Let Me Be the One" as well as several newer tunes.

In addition to his extensive musical career, Nichols also is a successful jeweler.[1]

Roger's brother, Ted Nichols, was also a noted composer who briefly served as musical director for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon studio.

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.