Al Perry was veteran picker who apparently started his career as a steel player on the early 1960's Southern California twang scene, when he was known as Al Petty... He played with hotshot guitarist Danny Michaels for a while before starting his own band and going solo. Why Perry semi-changed his name is a mystery to me, but as Al Perry, he led his own band far and wide, including extensive military tours to support the troops during the Vietnam War, and a curious early 'Seventies interlude at a club in Marshfield, Wisconsin called The Country West, where his show became a proving ground for local country talent. Eventually he set up shop in Tyler, Texas, and for lack of better biographical information, I say we just consider him a Texas artist.
There is an odd, undefinable sense of desperation and shiftiness hovering over many of Perry's albums, and indeed, his life took some unsavory turns. In his later years Perry was constantly broke and looking for various get-rich schemes to pan out. After spending the 'Seventies fronting various Al Perry groups, he reverted to his steel-playing Al Petty persona, recording a string of gospel albums in the early 1980s, several of which were packed with Petty's own original material. For a while he found work appearing on the nationally-broadcast PTL Club evangelical TV show (where he showcased his own musical creation, the "Guitorchestra," which was a super-complicated steel guitar/synthesizer hybrid... and a big commercial flop.) But for the most part, despite all his hustling, he wound up struggling to make ends meet back in Tyler, Texas. In the late 1990s he tried launching a variety of financial scams, small ones to begin with, though he ultimately became known for setting up a sham telecom company which became a huge multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme. Arrested and tried in 2003, Perry was convicted and sentenced to a hundreds-year prison term; a sad end to a long career.
Al Petty & The Countrymen "The All Time Country Music Favorites" (Chambers Records, 1964) (LP)
This early album was a memento of his Southern California nightclub days, with a Hollywood address for the Chambers label, but little other info... Musicially, it's a straight-up set of country classics -- "Crazy Arms," "I Love You A Thousand Ways," "I Overlooked An Orchid," "Walkin' The Floor Over You" and the like... No information about the backing musicians, alas.
Al Perry & The Countrymen "Souvenir Album, Volume One: I Love You" (Love Studios, 19--?) (LP)
Mostly more cover songs, though the song "(That Don't Make You A) Bad Girl" was probably an original.
Al Perry & The Country Folk "Sondrestrom And Thule Souvenir Album: '69-70" (Love Studios, 1970) (LP)
A souvenir album recorded live at several US military bases in Greenland, during a European tour by ex-rockabilly twangster Al Perry and his band... Most of the songs were sung by Al Perry, with other vocalists including Vern Coldiron, Billie Love, Doris Love and Jimmy Waylon. The "Love Sisters" -- Billie, Doris, and later Donna -- toured with Perry for several years, though I'm not sure if any of them were actually related.
Al Perry & The Country Affair "Live At The Country West" (Love Records, 1975) (LP)
A live album recorded May 10, 1975 at a place called The Country West, in Marshfield, Wisconsin, near Wausau. For several years this was the adopted stomping grounds of the Al Perry band, a hard-country shuffle band from Tyler, Texas that apparently had a big influence on the local country scene. The group was led by steel player Al Perry, along with piano player Rags Allen, singer Donna Love and bass player Glenn Worf, a Madison local who went on to become an A-list studio musician in Nashville.
Al Petty "The Al Petty New Life Blessing No. 1" (Love Records, 1981) (LP)
A secular steel player with a career dating back at least to the early 1960s, Al Petty played in Southern California nightclubs for years, before semi-changing his name to "Al Perry," and leading his own musical troupe for most of the 'Seventies, with Tyler, Texas as his home base for most of the decade. He did move around a lot, though, and by the time he decided to get religion and record this set of early 'Eighties gospel albums, he had (apparently) moved again... This album gives an address in Washington, Pennsylvania... the final three give an address in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Al Petty "The Al Petty New Life Blessing No. 2" (Love Records, 1981) (LP)
Al Petty "My Sins Nailed Him There" (Love Records, 1981) (LP)
Al Petty "Sings And Plays For Jesus" (Love Records, 1982) (LP)
Al Petty "Growing In Jesus" (Love Records, 1981) (LP)
