Al Perkins

Al Perkins (born January 18, 1944 in Texas ) is an American musician and producer. He played guitar , pedal steel guitar and Dobro on productions of many well-known artists and in 2001 was named "Most Influential Dobro Player in the World" by the Gibson guitar company .

Life

Perkins learned the Hawaiian steel guitar at the age of nine and played in various bands in West Texas in the 1960s. After his military service he was a member of the group Shiloh and from 1971 the Flying Burrito Brothers , on whose last album Last Of The Red Hot Burritos he participated. In 1972 he joined, along with fellow Burrito Chris Hillman, the new band from Stephen Stills , Manassas , with whom he recorded two LPs. The group of highly talented musicians, with their program of country , rock , blues and Latin- influenced pieces, was considered one of the most accomplished formations in rock music history, but dissolved again in 1973.

After the breakup of Manassas , Perkins and Hillman turned to a new project. With Richie Furay , JD Souther and some Manassas colleagues they founded the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band , which recorded two albums from 1973 to 1975 and then broke up.

Mid-1970s, Perkins turned the record production, but toured the same time continuing with artists like Michael Nesmith , Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman and worked as a session musician, such as the album South Of The Border by The Eagles . He toured and also worked a. a. with Dan Fogelberg , Rita Coolidge , Leonard Cohen , Gram Parsons , Roy Orbison , Bob Dylan , Garth Brooks , Daniel Amos , the Rolling Stones , Joe Walsh , Randy Newman , James Taylor , Debby Boone , Cher , Dwight Yoakam and Tori Amos .

In 1984 and 1985 Perkins could be heard on two albums by Christian singer Don Francisco and at the same time played Christian bluegrass with Chris Hillman in the band Ever Call Ready . Shortly thereafter, he joined Hillman's Desert Rose Band and, in 1986, the live band of Dolly Parton . In the same year he played on the album Knocked Out Loaded by Bob Dylan .

In 1992 he became a member of a new project by Emmylou Harris , The Nash Ramblers . The musicians received a Grammy award for the album and DVD, which documented the performance of this band in the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville through the history of country music. Harris and Perkins had known each other since 1972 when they appeared on Gram Parsons' solo albums.

From the mid-1990s, Perkins worked primarily as a producer and session musician. In 2003 he helped found the legendary country rock band Mason Proffit . In 2004 he released his first solo album with a mixture of blues, country, bluegrass , gospel and Cajun music . In the same year his career reached a high point when he took part in a Gram Parsons tribute concert in California with colleagues like James Burton and Keith Richards .

Today Perkins lives in Nashville and is involved in several projects, including the Hi Power Band , which performs with a rock and R&B program around the country metropolis.

In 2009 he founded, together with Brady Blade and Chris Donohue, the trio Big Dog 3 , which recorded an album of the same name in the same year with guest musicians from the band of Emmylou Harris. That year Al Perkins was also involved in the debut album by Indiana singer Otis Gibbs. On the CD entitled Grandpa Walked a Picketline and the single Caroline taken from it , he also played pedal steel guitar in addition to the Dobro .

The guitar company Gibson has been producing the Al Perkins Signature Dobro since 2001 , developed by the artist himself and provided with his name.

Discography

The Flying Burrito Brothers

• Last of the Red Hot Burritos (1972)

Gram Parsons

• GP (1973)
• Grievous Angel (1974)

Manassas

• Manassas (1972)
• Down the Road (1973)

Souther Hillman Furay Band

• Souther Hillman Furay Band (1974)
• Trouble in Paradise (1975)

Ever call ready

• Ever Call Ready (1984)
• Down Home Praise (1985)

Emmylou Harris & Nash Ramblers

• Live at the Ryman (1992)

Big Dog 3

• Big Dog 3 (2009)

Otis Gibbs

• Grandpa Walked a Picketline (2009)

solo

• Triple Play (2004)

Web links

• Official website