Reverend (or Blind) Pearly Brown (August 18, 1915 – June 28, 1986) was an American singer and guitarist, known primarily as a street performer.

He performed at the Newport Folk Festival, Carnegie Hall, and—as one of the first African American performers—the Grand Ole Opry.

[3] For most of his career, Brown lived in a one-story house at 816 Ashby Street[5] in Americus with his first wife, Willie Mae.

He was influenced by earlier musicians such as Blind Willie Johnson, whose recording of the song "If I Had My Way" he plays and listens to in It's a Mean Old World.

In 1963, the Browns daughter, Pearl, was one of the African American children arrested for protesting segregation at the Martin Theater.

The 1977 documentary It's a Mean Old World captures the style of his street performance: walking slowly along the sidewalk, singing and playing, with a handwritten sign around his neck reading "I am a blind preacher.

Steve Leggett, Allmusic reviewer, has called him "Quite possibl[y] the last of the great blues street singers".

[4] Brown recorded and released two LPs:[11] Live performances of two of his songs, "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" and "What a Time", with his wife Christine singing backing vocals, are included on the 1995 album Gospel at Newport.