Perkins, Al (18th January 1944-Present)

He is a guitarist, steel guitarist, Dobro player, songwriter and producer born in Texas who, when he was nine years old, began learning the Hawaiian steel guitar.

He went on to perform with several local bands on steel and pedal guitar by the time he was just eleven until he became a Reserve in the US Army in the 1960s. Once he had served his time he settled in California and became a member of Don Henley’s band Shiloh in the 1960s. He then went on to join up with The Flying Burrito Brothers as well as playing for several artists and groups as a session musician before joining Steven Stills’ Manassas around 1972. After their second album he moved over to the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band.

Also during the 1970s he began to concentrate on record production and has since spent much of his career in that capacity.

Continuing to perform and record he became half of a duo with Chris Hillman which then evolved into the Desert Rose Band in he 1980s and became a musician for Dolly Parton for a few years from 1986. Two years later he relocated to Nashville and became a member of The Nash Ramblers who were the Grammy Award winning backing band for Emmylou Harris.

During the 1990s he worked mainly as a producer and session musician and in 2001 he started working on his Signature Dobro for Gibson guitars.

In 2003 he got together with a few of the ex-members of the 1970’s band Mason Proffit when it got back together. More recently he has performed as a member of Big Dog 3 and in 2009 they released their debut album.

During the course of his long career he has produced and/or performed with countless groups and artists that include Alex Harvey, Tori Amos, Debby Boone, Cher, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Richie Furay, Chris Hillman, Al Hudson, Wynonna Judd, Patty Loveless, Roger McGuinn, Michael Martin Murphey, Randy Newman, Roy Orbison, Billy Preston, Rick Roberts, Russ Taff and Dwight Yoakam.

His record catalogue is vast with a small selection of the albums he has worked on including his own Snapshots and Triple Play, Sevens by Garth Brooks, Nashville by Solomon Burke, Casablanca Years by Cher, Two Sides to Every Story by Gene Clark, Lady’s Not For Sale by Rita Coolidge, Crosby, Stills & Nash by Crosby, Stills & Nash, Flower That Shattered the Stone by John Denver, Knocked Out Loaded by Bob Dylan, On the Border by The Eagles, Last of the Red Hot Burritosby The Flying Burrito Brothers, Souvenirs by Dan Fogelberg, Live at the Ryman by Emmylou Harris, Celebration by Mike Love, Live at the Palais by Michael Nesmith, G.P. by Gram Parsons, Say Forever You’ll Be Mine by Dolly Parton & Porter Wagoner, Exile on Main Street by The Rolling Stones, Trouble In Paradise by the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, Down the Road by Stephen Stills & Manassas, Bad Girls by Donna Summer, Gorilla by James Taylor and Barnstorm by Joe Walsh.

Sources:

Perkins, Al (18th January 1944-Present)

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