[1] Originally from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador,[2] Nicol signed to Columbia Records and released the album Goodbye Mama in 1973.
[3] The album's title track was a moderate hit on the Canadian charts that year.
[3] In addition to his Juno Award win for Most Promising Folk Singer, he was also nominated for Best Folk Singer, Most Promising Male Vocalist and Best Folk Single for "Goodbye Mama";[4] his win made him the first musician from Newfoundland ever to win a Juno.
He left the music business and moved to Kelowna, British Columbia, reemerging in 1993 with the album Night Crossing.
[6] In 1997, Nicol and Gordon Pinsent collaborated on the album Harbour of Dreams: A Tribute to Newfoundland.