Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry

Bill Perry is a Mississippi blues guitarist/singer. Perry was born in Abbeville, Mississippi, and he has been playing soul, blues and gospel for over 35 years.

His career has taken him all over the US and overseas. He recently toured for five months in China and a year later spent three months in Jakarta, Indonesia. He has played at the Apollo Theater in New York, and the Palladium in Hollywood, California. Bill was one of the first singers to appear on Soul Train. Some of his many club appearances have been at the Burning Spear and the Wise Fool in Chicago. He is a regular at The Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, MS and has played often at the Rum Boogie in Memphis, TN. Rum Boogie displays one of Bill’s guitars on their wall. He has played at Hal & Mal’s in Jackson, MS, and has been featured at the Jubilee Jam and the Mississippi Blues Festival. Howl-N-Madd and his band have recently been playing at regional blues festivals and clubs throughout the country.

He has been featured on both TV and radio and recently competed in the International Blues Competition in Memphis, wowing the crowds with his show. He currently hosts a TV show called “Blues Trekkers” in Oxford, MS. Bill’s shows are high-energy with lots of blues classics and his own originals.

In September of 2006, Howl-N-Madd was thrown a CD release party for his new release, "Reason I Sing the Blues" at Ground Zero in Clarksdale, MS. A surprise guest for Bill was his friend, actor Morgan Freeman. A great time was had by all.

In his effort to help promote the blues to a future generation, Bill teaches blues for the Delta Blues Museum Arts and Education Program in Clarksdale, MS. Bill accompanied the students to the Chicago Blues Festival in 2006, and also to the B.B. King workshop at Mississippi Valley State University.

As a singer/song writer his career stretches back to Chicago in the early 1970s. He has written for Lil Johnny Taylor, Ted Taylor, and Cash McCall. He worked for Phil Chess as a studio musician, and for Stan Lewis where he wrote for Jewel Paula Records. He did a stint writing for J.J. Taylor on a Willie Dixon Label. As a musician he has played gigs with Clarence Carter, Freddy King, T-Bone Walker, Little Richard, and Lee “Shot” Williams. He played on a Chuck Berry album, and recently on Buddy Guy’s “Blues Singer” CD.

He has five CD’s released - his latest is "Jook Joint Jump" released in 2007.

WHAT IS BEING SAID
--- Review in Delta Currents by Thomas Jacques ---

"Jook Joint Jump" is instantly infectious; at its heart an old- time barroom rocker with a passing resemblance to Sam Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away." No newcomer to the scene, Perry puts the wisdom of more than 35 years of playing and performing into the project. This disc is the sound of a guy who's played for many a tough audience, and doesn't consider surrendering the stage until he's won over every stubborn holdout. Goading listeners to get up and dance here, conversing with them like folks desperately in need of good advice there. James "Super Chikan" Johnson sits in on diddly bo and vocals on "Blues Is Not Exclusive," serving as the tune's philosopher-in-residence. The harmonies on "Willie Mae" are a showstopper; the dark humor of the blues stands out on "Five Dollars and a Dime" and "Out So Late"; "Tell Me" and "Came Out to Party" are floor-fillers (the latter, with its Isleys guitar, can compete with "Jook Joint Jump" for the disc's best mover).

He can be booked solo, duo, trio, or with his full band .. . Bill says “I’ve been doing this a long time. Hopefully it shows. I’m just playing the blues I love.”