Wayne Perkins, the Alabama-born session guitarist who came tantalizingly close to joining the Rolling Stones and whose slide guitar work graced some of rock’s most iconic recordings, died on March 16, 2026, at age 74. He had suffered a stroke on March 1, 2026, and never recovered.
His brother Dale Perkins confirmed the death, revealing that family members were with the guitarist when he passed. “He was one of a kind, and we loved him very much,” Dale wrote.
Perkins earned his place in rock history during a pivotal moment for the Rolling Stones. When Mick Taylor left the band in late 1974, Eric Clapton recommended the young guitarist from Birmingham, Alabama, as a replacement. Perkins flew to Munich in 1975 as the Stones worked on songs for their 1976 album “Black and Blue,” contributing unforgettable guitar work to “Hand of Fate,” “Memory Motel,” and the haunting slide guitar on “Fool to Cry.”
He also recorded a blistering solo on “Worried About You,” though the track wouldn’t see release until the 1981 album “Tattoo You.” For a brief moment, it seemed certain he would become a permanent member of rock’s greatest band.
But the job ultimately went to Ron Wood. Keith Richards addressed the decision candidly in his 2010 memoir “Life,” explaining that while the band liked Perkins and considered him a lovely player with a melodic style, they ultimately chose Wood because he was English. “It is an English band,” Richards wrote, “and we all felt we should retain the nationality of the band at the time.”
Perkins recalled the surreal experience of recording with the Stones in a 1996 interview with the Los Angeles Daily News: “When I got there, it was the strangest thing — they played like the worst garage band I’d ever heard in my life.” But once the right studio light went on, something magic happened, and the band transformed from awful to incredible.
The Stones weren’t the only legendary act Perkins turned down. In December 1976, Lynyrd Skynyrd offered him a position in their lineup. He declined, and ten months later, the band’s plane crashed on October 20, 1977, killing his close friend Ronnie Van Zant and several other members. “Something didn’t feel right to me,” Perkins reflected in a 2022 interview with Culture Sonar. “Ronnie was one of my best friends. I knew all the guys in the band.”
Born in Birmingham in 1951, Perkins taught himself guitar at age 12, drawing inspiration from masters like James Burton and Chet Atkins. He left school at 16 to pursue music full-time, eventually becoming a fixture at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound studio. The session musicians there were informally known as the Swampers, immortalized in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.”
His session work reads like a who’s who of 1970s music. Island Records founder Chris Blackwell brought Perkins to London to overdub guitar parts on Bob Marley and the Wailers’ groundbreaking “Catch a Fire” album. Perkins played on “Concrete Jungle,” “Baby We’ve Got a Date (Rock It Baby),” and “Stir It Up,” though he wasn’t initially credited. He later recalled Marley running out “with a spliff about two feet long trying to cram it down my throat.”
Joni Mitchell recruited him for her masterpiece “Court and Spark,” where he played electric guitar on “Car on a Hill.” His resume also included collaborations with Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Steve Winwood, and Jimmy Cliff.
Despite never achieving household name status, Perkins remained a revered figure among musicians and guitar enthusiasts. Harvey Mandel was also considered for the Rolling Stones position during the “Black and Blue” sessions, but it was Perkins who left the most indelible mark on the album.
Throughout his career, Perkins maintained a philosophical perspective on his near-misses with superstardom. He continued recording through the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, earning respect as one of rock’s most accomplished session players. In recent years, he battled several brain tumors before the stroke that ultimately claimed his life.
Wayne Perkins may not have become a Rolling Stone or a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, but his guitar work on some of the 1970s’ most beloved recordings ensures his legacy endures. His slide guitar on “Fool to Cry” alone guarantees him a permanent place in rock history.