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, Bobby "Blue" Bland 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, Bland 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.
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