b. Phil Perry, 12th January 1952, Springfield, Illinois, U.S.A.
Phil Perry was a former member of The Montclairs, (named after a local brand of cigarettes).
The groups other members were David Frye, George McLellan, Kevin Sanlin and Clifford 'Scotty' Williams.
The group first recorded in 1969 and the following year they teamed up with Oliver Sain at his Archway studio.
Sain took the group to Paula Records in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Here they had hits with 'Dreaming Out Of Season' ( R & B number 34) and 'Make Up For Lost Time' ( R & B number 46).
Their last record for the label came in 1974 entitled 'Baby You Know (I'm Gonna Miss You)'.
The Montclairs left Paula and disbanded in 1975.
Perry later teamed with Richard Sanlin in a duo that had a short stay at Capitol in 1980.
Their first single stalled at number 81 and the album fizzled.
They continued as songwriters and freelance producers.
Perry issued his own solo LP, 'The Heart of the Man', for Capitol in 1991.
The album was well received by the soul fraternity, although it didn't get mainstream credit.
Through the Nineties, Perry has remained busy as a session vocalist. He is regarded as having one of the finest current soul voices.
In the year 2000, Perry released 'My Book Of Love', an excellent outing, followed by 'Magic' on Peak Records the following year.
Phil's vocal attributes have also been utilised on a children's cartoon entitled 'Adventures From The Book Of Virtue's'.
Albums:
The Heart of the Man (Capitol Records 1991)
Pure Pleasure (GRP / MCA Records 1994)
One Heart, One Love (Private Music Records 1998)
My Book of Love (Private Music Records 2000)
Magic (Peak Records 2001)
Classic Love Songs (Peak Recods 2006)
A Mighty Love (Shanachie Records 2007)
Ready For Love (Peak Records 2008)
The Gift Of Love (with Melba Moore) (Shanachie Records 2009)
Say Yes (Shanachie Records 2013)
A Better Man (Shanachie Records 2015)
Breathless (Shanachie Records 2017)
