She formed a folk duo called Greasy Mountain Butterballs with Kathy Smith, touring Vietnam in 1966.
In 1967 she moved to San Francisco, where she performed as an opening act at venues such as the Avalon Ballroom and Fillmore Auditorium and at outdoor music festivals.
She returned to Los Angeles to concentrate on songwriting and studied with vocal coach Florence Riggs.
In the late 1970s, Nichols entered Antioch University to earn degrees in psychology and music.
From there she oversaw Summersongs songwriting camps, held four times a year, twice in New York and twice in California.