By DeAnna Janes, Parade | Wayne Perkins, an Alabama-born guitarist with ties to The Rolling Stones, died yesterday, March 18, 2026. He was 74 years old. The news was announced by his family on social media.
“For those who haven’t heard, Wayne passed away yesterday peacefully,” his brother Dale Perkins shared 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.”
According to Ultimate Classic Rock, Perkins died after suffering a stroke, which followed being diagnosed with several brain tumors over the past few years.
Wayne Perkins Played With the Rolling Stones and Many Other Legends
Also per the outlet, Perkins caught the attention of Mick Jagger and the Stones through a mutual friend, Eric Clapton, who recommended Perkins for the guitarist gig after Mick Taylor departed the band, before the recording of their Black and Blue album in 1976.
Perkins collaborated on “Hand of Fate,” “Memory Motel,” and “Fool to Cry.” He also played on “Worried About You,” released later in 1981 on Tattoo You.
In his 2010 memoir, Life, Stones guitarist and vocalist Keith Richards said, “We liked Perkins a lot. He was a lovely player … [but] it wasn’t so much the playing, when it came down to it. It came down to the fact that [Ron Wood] was English.”
Wood got the job instead, UCR notes.
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Read the rest of the article here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/70s-golden-era-guitarist-and-rolling-stones-collaborator-dies-at-74/
OTHER NOTABLE MUSICIANS’ DEATHS
Warning Signs of Suicide – National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or if you want to discuss, call the old numbers at 800-273-TALK or 800-273-8255 for English and 888-628-9454 for Spanish. Learn the signs of someone who may be contemplating suicide.
Posting for my Veteran/singer/songwriter/musician friend Troy Hoss: Heavy on my heart so here goes: This is a very real problem … 22 Veterans a day surrender to their demons. #SuicideAwareness | Call Veteran’s Hotline: 988 #1 or 844-647-1354
From Care2 via Jock Bartley on Facebook: Trump shut down our LGBTQ+ suicide and mental health hotline, but CANADA opened a US toll-free number to theirs… so our citizens can get help anytime, at no cost: 1-877-330-6366
Kindness & empathy have no borders.
If you want to know more about any of the musicians we lost, please check them out at http://www.wikipedia.com
March 2026
18: Robert White, 89, American tenor.
17: Bettina Köster, 66, German singer, musician and composer.
16: Dolores Keane, 72, Irish folk singer (De Dannan); Wayne Perkins, 74, American guitarist, stroke.
15: Paki Canzi, 78, Italian singer; Irmeli Mäkelä, 83, Finnish pop singer; Cinzia Oscar, 63, Italian singer and stage actress.
14: Paul Geremia, 81, American blues musician.
13: Phil Campbell, 64, Welsh guitarist (Motörhead, Persian Risk, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons), complications from surgery; Fatma Sarhan, 97, Egyptian singer.
12: Al Festa, 68, Italian film director, composer and screenwriter; Bernie Lynch, 72, Australian musician (Eurogliders) and songwriter (“Heaven (Must Be There)”, “We Will Together”), throat cancer; Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson, 73, Icelandic composer; Iulian Vrabete, 70, Romanian bassist (Holograf), cancer.
10: Thakkali Srinivasan, 72, Indian film director (Jenma Natchathram, Witness, Aduthathu) and musician; Willie Anthony Waters, 74, American opera conductor and artistic director (Connecticut Opera); Zalek, 30, Colombian reggaeton singer, traffic collision.