Wayne Perkins with the Alabama Power-Crimson Tide band in 1978: NAJ screen shot
By Glynn “Cowboy” Wilson –
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama guitar slinger Wayne Perkins, who’s playing in the early days of Rock ‘n’ Roll inspired Southern Rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and influenced British Rock bands like The Rolling Stones, and whose lead guitar licks helped make Bob Marley’s Reggae music internationally famous, died on Monday in a Birmingham hospital. He was 74.
He suffered a stroke on March 1 and never fully recovered, according to his brother Dale Perkins.
“For those who haven’t heard, Wayne passed away yesterday peacefully,” Dale posted on Facebook. “Our sisters and family members were there with him. We appreciate all the kind thoughts and memories. He was one of a kind and we loved him very much, and thank you all.”
Wayne Perkins playing at Zydeco on Southside
Last winter I embedded with Wayne and Dale in a log cabin house in Argo east of Birmingham working on a website for Perkins, adding some of his original songs and covers to YouTube videos and conducted enough research to draft a book proposal to follow a film about him and his life on Alabama Public Television. It is still available but has not been funded yet.
Wayne Perkins: The Story of a Swamper And a Sideman
Wayne Perkins YouTube Songs Playlist
I had written a chapter focusing on some of my experiences growing up playing rock and roll in the 1970s along with the Perkins brothers for a third edition of my memoir, which will be out later this year on Amazon.
It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll But I Like It: Wayne Perkins, The Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd
Perkins ended up in the right place at the right time in the late 1960s and 1970s after quitting school and moving to the Muscle Shoals area in 1968 to work in studios, where he played with Percy Sledge, Wilson Picket, Jimmy Cliff and eventually Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Rolling Stones, as well as Joni Mitchell.
After being passed over for a guitar playing position with the Stones in 1975, Perkins joined his brother’s band Alabama Power and took one of the best bands in rock bar history to Capitol Records in Los Angeles, California. But the project fell apart when Alabama Power company threatened a lawsuit and the record label changed the name of the band to Crimson Tide.
Perkins drifted around after that and ended up playing with Richard Wolf in California, Lonnie Mack and other artists until he moved back to Birmingham and retired with health problems in the 1990s after releasing two solo albums that failed to chart.
He should be credited as one of the original Swampers for playing in the studio and on the road with Leon Russell, whose English producer Denny Cordell coined the phrase during recording sessions for Russell in the early 1970s because of their “funky, soulful Southern ‘swamp’ sound.” Of course it became famous when Lynyrd Skynyrd sang about it in the hit song Sweet Home Alabama.
“Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they’ve been known to pick a song or two (yes, they do)
Lord, they get me off so much
They pick me up when I’m feelin’ blue, now how ’bout you?
“Sweet home Alabama (oh)
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I’m comin’ home to you…”
– Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd
Legendary Swamper Jimmy Johnson (left) and Ronnie Van Zandt of Lynyrd Skynyrd (right) pointing at the man of the hour Wayne Perkins, come to save the day and session at Muscle Shoals Sound on guitar fresh from swimming in the Tennessee River: NAJ screen shot from a Dick Cooper photo
What is This ‘Swampers Sound’ and What Musicians Should be Credited on the List as ‘A Swamper?’
Wayne Perkins in the studio with Leon Russel: Perkins family photo
Why he has not already been added as an inductee in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Florence is a mystery to all who know him. He should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Other related stories:
From Hey Jude to Southern Rock: When Slide Guitar and a Beat from the Swamps Went Mainstream
Jackson Browne’s ‘These Days’ Remembered From ‘Those Days’
Nobody Really Knows Me: A Rock and Roll Journey
This is a developing, breaking news story in progress.
Another great one gone. Rest in Peace.
Wayne was an amazing person and a great guitar player. He should be in the hall of fame as he played with some greats including The Rolling Stones, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bob Marley, Lonnie Mack, Leon Russell, Joni Mitchell, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more. Had Wayne been British he would have been a Rolling Stone and he almost was the 3rd Guitar player for Skynyrd but didn’t take the job. He had many incredible stories and was a really nice guy too. A very down to earth guy with no ego. Wayne will be greatly missed. Condolences go out to his brother and sister. May Wayne rest in peace. Gone but never forgotten.