“I feel like I've been placed in the delete bin of life next to Mahogany Rush.”
— Wayne Campbell (from Wayne's World 2)

The story goes something like this: at age 13, Frank Marino, suffering from a bum acid trip, entered a Canadian hospital a nonguitarist and emerged a short time later the heir to the throne of Jimi Hendrix. The transformation was so remarkable that some claim that Marino had been visited by the ghost of the Great One or was, in fact, Hendrix reincarnate.

“The short truth about it is that I just learned how to play guitar while recuperating from my trip,” says Marino years later. “The guitar became a soothing help for me because of my great fear of letting my mind wander back into the trip if I wasn't occupied. Besides, Hendrix was still alive at the time.”

In 1970, armed with his recently found chops, Marino launched Mahogany Rush (the name Marino used to describe his life-changing drug experience) with drummer Jim Ayoub and bassist Paul Harwood. By 1976 the Hendrix-tinged power trio had signed with Columbia (later becoming Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush) and was riding the airwaves with songs such as “Strange Dreams” and “Sister Change.” But although the fleet-fingered Marino could easily outduel a guitar-playing contemporary such as Ted Nugent (who found out the hard way after walking onstage unannounced during a Mahogany Rush performance), the big hits never materialized. Following the release of 1980's What's Next, a frustrated Marino told Columbia he wanted out. A three-year legal battle ensued, the MR backlog quickly went out of print, and Marino et al faded into obscurity.

Now 46 and the father of three, Marino still straps on his prized '61 Gibson SG Les Paul for the occasional gig and recently released an independent offering, Eye of the Storm (www.mahoganyrush.com). Marino avoids most new music, preferring standbys like the Beatles and Hendrix — and even older music.

“I've been into Tony Bennett for over 15 years,” he says. “I know it's nothing like what I do, but somehow this guy gets to me. It's probably some long-lost-childhood thing, what with my dad being Italian and coming from that era. I guess the record player in those days must have put the music deep into my brain somewhere.”

We'd love to hear your suggestions regarding artists and bands to profile in “Lost & Found.” So if you're wondering what happened to a favorite act from the past, drop us a line at onstageeditorial@primediabusiness.com.