Oscar Perry

Oscar Perry was a Houston-based singer and guitarist with a feel for the blues (especially ballads) and the sweeter side of Southern soul. Perry made his first recording in 1957 with "Just Above a Whisper" on Spinner, and recorded for Lee J over the remainder of the decade. He hopped from label to label during the '60s, and found a home in the early '70s with producer Huey P. Meaux's Crazy Cajun label family. His most prolific recording period lasted from 1972-1976, during which time several of his 45s were picked up for distribution by Mercury. In 1973, <a href="spotify:artist:48nwxUvPJZkm8uPa7xMzmj">Bobby "Blue" Bland</a> recorded Perry's original composition "This Time I'm Gone for Good" and took it into the R&B Top Five; in the wake of that success, <a href="spotify:artist:48nwxUvPJZkm8uPa7xMzmj">Bland</a> cut several more Perry tunes over the next few years, including "When You Come to the End of Your Road" and "If I Weren't a Gambler." After his run with Meaux ended, Perry continued to record for a long string of small labels up into the mid-'80s. He returned in 1993 with Still Blue, a full-length soul-blues album for Ichiban; he still continues to play around his hometown of Houston. Over 1999-2000, the British Edsel label reissued much of Perry's Crazy Cajun output on the compilations Lonesome Train and Playboy Side of Town. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi