Song of the Day 2/19: The Rolling Stones, “Hand of Fate”

The star of this track is a guy who almost became a Rolling Stone. Wayne Perkins was a session guitarist out of Muscle Shoals, one of a half-dozen or so who auditioned for Mick Taylor’s job after Taylor left the band in 1974. Keith Richards later said the “Black and Blue” album, released to mixed reviews in 1976, was the product of those auditions; Perkins is featured on three tracks, including this tale that Mick Jagger said was about “a Southern murder.” It’s an under-appreciated but typical Stones rocker until Perkins’ solo begins at 1:33, and he blisters the outro, too. It wasn’t to be, however. Taylor’s job went to Ron Wood only because Wood is British, and Jagger and Richards have acknowledged that they thought it important that the Stones remain an all-Brit band.

Perkins is something of a Forrest Gump of ’70s rock. He appeared backing musicians in every genre from country to reggae. In fact, that’s him playing the guitar overdubs on Bob Marley’s classic “Stir It Up.”