Ignored             Obscured              Restored

In rock and roll history, the name Wayne Perkins isn’t instantly recognizable.  Unless, that is, you carefully read the credits in the liner notes of your albums.

Perkins recorded with high-profile artists, including the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, and Joni Mitchell.  He was almost invited to replace Mick Taylor when Taylor left the Stones but was ultimately passed over for their old friend Ron Wood.  Yet, before that decision, he laid down remarkable tracks on the Stones’ Black and Blue (1976) album.  His playing on “Hand of Fate” is epic!

For Marley, he overdubbed guitar on three tracks on the Catch a Fire (1973) album.  (For those who collect vinyl, you may remember this album with the cover that depicted a Zippo lighter that opened at the top!) Perkins’ best contribution is the solo on “Concrete Jungle.”

Joni Mitchell’s breakthrough commercial success Court and Spark (1974) includes some fine guitar playing by Perkins on “Car on a Hill.”  It has been said that the song is about an incident where Joni was waiting in vain for her then-boyfriend Jackson Browne to show up because he was out with his new partner Phyllis Majors – who he eventually married.  Perkins’ crying guitar adds to the feeling of anxiety that Mitchell’s song conveys.

After discovering Perkins’ role in this set of songs, I’m confident you will agree he deserves recognition not just as a footnote in rock history, but as a pivotal figure in its development.

Enjoy… until next week.