Wayne Perkins, the Alabama-born guitarist who nearly joined the Rolling Stones and turned down Lynyrd Skynyrd, died March 16 at 74. Known for his work on Bob Marley's breakthrough album "Catch a Fire," Perkins brought Southern rock to reggae and recorded with Joni Mitchell, Joe Cocker, and Leon Russell during his most productive decades in the 1970s and '80s.

Perkins's versatility made him a sought-after session musician. His blistering guitar solo on the Rolling Stones' "Hand of Fate" earned critical praise, with one reviewer calling it "among the most thrilling in a Stones catalog rich with guitar heroics." Though Keith Richards praised Perkins's melodic style, the band ultimately chose Ronnie Wood because "he was English." Perkins also declined an offer to replace Ed King in Lynyrd Skynyrd, preferring to pursue his own path.

Born in Birmingham in 1951, Perkins began playing guitar at age six and dropped out of high school at sixteen to pursue music. His work at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio helped shape Southern music, and he released two solo albums in the 1990s and 2000s. His sister Nadine Sims said his death followed a stroke complicated by brain tumors and severe back pain.