‘True pioneer and champion of reggae’
MUSICIAN Carl Perkins was a member of pioneering band Herbs from the early 1980s, beginning as a percussionist and writer and becoming a guitarist. He played funk, rock and roll, jazz and reggae.
He died last week in the Waikato Hospice, aged 59.
The NZ Reggae page posted a tribute saying Perkins was ‘‘a true pioneer and champion of reggae music here in Aotearoa’’.
In the 2000s, Perkins founded the band House of Shem with his two sons, Te Omeka and Isaiah.
He also had stints playing with Dread, Mana, and The Twelve Tribes band, and toured with The Wailers after Bob Marley died.
House of Shem toured the world, released three albums and played to thousands at festivals.
The Jamaican Observer noted Perkins, known as Papa Carl, was a foundation figure in Kiwi reggae. He became a disciple of reggae music after attending Bob Marley’s concert at Western Springs Stadium, Auckland, in April 1979.
As well as being a musician, Perkins was an apotoro wairua (a lay reader or spiritual counsellor) of the Ratana Church.
Perkins got into trouble at school, and was taken from his whanau and put into Lake Alice juvenile centre, where the children endured inhumane treatment. The Government apologised decades later.
Perkins often credited music for saving his life.
He was buried at Raetihi, near Whanganui, last Saturday.
He is survived by wife Denise and five sons. — NZME/RNZ