The Perry’s are Blues Royal Family! Bill HowlNMADD Perry was born in rural Lafayette County; his father was a cotton sharecropper and moonshiner–”a country hustler,” according to his son–and young Bill Perry spent his share of time in the fields. He moved to Chicago as a young man and spent time in the clubs listening to Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Mighty Joe Young, but gospel is where he got his first break. By his late ‘teens he’d recorded gospel for Chess Records, toured the country with various groups and, played bass and guitar behind the Five Blind Boys and Shirley Ceaser.
In 1966, after a 12-day stint at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, he found himself in Memphis, broke. He put on his good clothes, went out to a club, and ended up hooking up with Little Milton, his Chess label-mate. Touring with Milton, he began to sing, and he backed up T. Bone Walker, Freddie King, and other blues stars. His odyssey took him back to Chicago, where he worked at Chess as producer and session player until the label shut down in 1975. Later Perry ended up on the West Coast–backing up Little Richard and Johnnie Taylor, writing and producing two albums for Cash McCall.
Perry was born in rural Lafayette County; his father was a cotton sharecropper and moonshiner–”a country hustler,” according to his son–and young Bill Perry spent his share of time in the fields. He moved to Chicago as a young man and spent time in the clubs listening to Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Mighty Joe Young, but gospel is where he got his first break. By his late ‘teens he’d recorded gospel for Chess Records, toured the country with various groups and, played bass and guitar behind the Five Blind Boys and Shirley Ceaser.
In 1966, after a 12-day stint at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, he found himself in Memphis, broke. He put on his good clothes, went out to a club, and ended up hooking up with Little Milton, his Chess label-mate. Touring with Milton, he began to sing, and he backed up T. Bone Walker, Freddie King, and other blues stars. His odyssey took him back to Chicago, where he worked at Chess as producer and session player until the label shut down in 1975. Later Perry ended up on the West Coast–backing up Little Richard and Johnnie Taylor, writing and producing two albums for Cash McCall.
By the late 70s he was burnt out. He retired from music for eight years. See article.
Shy Perry as a teen, began performing professionally with her family band The Perry’s. The Perry’s consisted of her talented brother, pianist Bill Perry, Jr., and her legendary father, guitarist Bill Howl-N-Madd Perry. She has been performing and singing on stage for over 20 years. Shy is a singer, musician, model, dancer and songwriter. She cut her first 2 songs “Having Fun” and “Little Bad Kid” when she was 8 years old at Village Records in Los Angeles, CA. She sang lead, background vocals and played bass keyboard on both songs. As a young adult, Shy cut her first solo album called Voodoo Charm. She wrote and arranged several songs on that album. Shy has assisted with the creation and production of 9 albums. Voodoo Charm has been playing constantly on internet radio stations.
Shy, her father, and brother were immortalized on a Mississippi Blues Trail Marker in Oxford, MS for their contribution to music and the blues.Shy, Howl-N-Madd, and Bill Perry, Jr., had the honor of performing at Lincoln Center after the documentary film “True Delta”, by Erickson Blakney and Lee Quinby. You can view the True Delta Macaulay Promo at https://vimeo.com/55111095. ; Shy and Howl-N-Madd were part of the Flaming Lips success in making it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most performances in one day. The Perry’s were featured on the Blessissippi Bluesical at Ground Zero Blues Club hosted by Morgan Freeman and explore.org. The 3 hour event was simulcasted online via explore.org, XM Radio’s Bluesville channel and Link TV available on DirecTV and Dish Network. Shy was the co-host of a television show called “Blues Trekkers” with Bill Perry, Jr. They traveled across the Mid-South interviewing blues legends like Honey Boy Edwards and Pinetop Perkins. Shy was in an independent comedy film called Scenes from the Underground written and produced by Bill Perry, Jr. She also edited the movie.
The Perry’s are current Black Traditional Music Practitioners
