[1] He was also the audio engineer for numerous major music acts including the Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa, Crosby Stills & Nash, Al Di Meola, Rosanne Cash, Roy Orbison, Cass Elliot, Plácido Domingo, Gloria Estefan, Diana Ross, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Rickie Lee Jones, Kenny Loggins, Mark Knopfler, Eddie Murphy, Michael McDonald, James Taylor, and Toots Thielemans, among others.

"[4] The Roger Nichols Recording Method, his guide to audio engineering, was released by Alfred Music Publishing on June 17, 2013.

His father was a U.S. Air Force B-47 pilot; as a result the Nichols family lived in various spots in the U.S. for the first eleven years of his life.

A hi-fi supply store, created as a side business by Nichols and his partners, brought in clients and contacts that led to recording commercials, with future stars Karen Carpenter and Larry Carlton performing on some of the spots; another musician Nichols recorded in this era was the former Mouseketeer Cubby O'Brien, on the drums.

Some of the clients Nichols recorded at this time included John Phillips and Denny Doherty of the Mamas and the Papas, the Grass Roots, and Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds.

[8] Nichols discovered he had a great deal in common with the then-unknown duo, including sharing a taste for impeccable audio quality.

[7] Nichols once ascribed his close professional connection with Steely Dan and Mr. Katz to the obsession they all had with getting the most out of the technology in the recording studio.

"As a result of working with Nichols, Becker and Fagen and producer Katz were determined to have him seated behind the recording console for the 1972 start of studio sessions their first album, Can't Buy a Thrill.

Everything had to be as near perfect as technically and humanly possible.The album sold well and yielded two hit singles, ensuring Nichols would be tied to the band's fortunes.

[6][12]When Becker and Fagen expressed frustration during the band's second album Countdown to Ecstasy with the difficulty in acquiring a steady drum tempo, Nichols was forced to improvise.

As quoted in Brian Sweet's biography of Steely Dan, Reelin' in the Years, Nichols recalled: It was just one of those tunes that that was so very difficult to play exactly in tempo, with every instrument in sync.

[13]The album's back cover photograph featured a photo of Steely Dan in the recording studio control room, and included Nichols' seemingly disembodied hand on the mixing console while he hid beneath it.

Nichols won three additional Grammys with Steely Dan, including the notable achievement 'Album Of The Year' for his sonic accomplishments on their comeback album, Two Against Nature (2000).

He did not live to see the final publication of his works, the first of which, The Roger Nichols Recording Method, has been compiled and edited by his wife Conrad Reeder and Mike Lawson for Alfred Music Publishing, under the oversight of Alfred CEO Ron Manus, who in early 2013 stated "We are so thrilled to have the opportunity to publish Roger's work.

[20] Nichols was also a scuba diving instructor, an avid photographer, and an airplane pilot, and was close friends and flying buddies with singer/songwriter John Denver.