Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also known for performing the opening song to Disney’s sitcom, ''

Goof Troop ''Goof Troop'' is an American animated sitcom television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series focuses on the relationship between single father Goofy and his son, Max, as well as their neighbors Pete and his family. ...

''.

Biography

Discovered by Catholic nuns while singing high masses in his Catholic Church (St. Elizabeth in East St. Louis), and a high-school talent show favorite, Phil Perry wrote and recorded his first single "Hey You" with The Montclairs, who were also based in East St. Louis. They were signed to the Archway Records label just before Perry turned 17 years old in 1969. The song is considered to be the first of a classic soul collection of Perry 'Old School' singles popular in the 1970s. In 1972, The Montclairs recorded for

Paula Records Paula or PAULA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Paula, in video game '' EarthBound'' * Paula, in ''The Larry Sanders Show'' * Paula Campbell (''EastEnders''), in 2003 Film and television * ''Paula'' (1915 film), a s ...

with minor soul ballads that included "Dreaming's out of Season," "Prelude to a Heartbreak," and "Begging's Hard to Do." The Montclairs left Paula Records and disbanded in 1975. Perry then moved to California with former Montclair Kevin Sanlin, recording as a duo, resulting in two albums at

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in the early 1980s that were produced by Chuck Jackson and Dr. Cecil Hale. One song, "Just to Make You Happy," had a respectable level of success in radio. In the 1990s, Perry scored his first number-one R&B hit "Call Me" (previously recorded and written by

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

), a remake of the 1970 hit, as well as the top-forty R&B singles "Amazing Love" and "Forever" (written by Brenda Russell), all from the album ''The Heart of the Man'' (1991), his first solo release. Perry is also featured on many

GRP Records GRP® Records (Grusin-Rosen Productions) is a jazz record label founded by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen in 1978. Distributed by Verve Records, GRP® was originally known for its digital recordings that focuses on its jazz genre. History With G ...

projects, and is considered to be a GRP all-star, featured with such smooth-jazz icons as guitarists

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started play ...

and Russ Freeman, and pianist

Don Grusin Don Grusin (born April 22, 1941) is an American jazz keyboardist, composer, and record producer. He is the younger brother of Dave Grusin. Career Don Grusin grew up in Littleton, Colorado. His father, a native of Latvia, was a classical violinis ...

. Perry is a featured vocalist on recordings by

Michel Colombier Michel Colombier (23 May 1939 – 14 November 2004) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor. Career Colombier wrote the scores of several motion pictures and TV productions. He also wrote chamber music and ballets. With composer Pierre H ...

Dave Grusin Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record w ...

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

Najee Jerome Najee Rasheed (born November 4, 1957, New York City), known professionally as Najee, is an American Jazz-Smooth Jazz saxophonist and flautist. Early life Najee was born in the lower west side of Manhattan in New York City and lived his te ...

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

June Pointer June Antoinette Pointer (November 30, 1953 – April 11, 2006) was an American singer, best known as the youngest of the founding members of the vocal group The Pointer Sisters. Early life and career Born the youngest of six children to minister ...

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

, The Benoit-Freeman Project ( David Benoit & Russ Freeman),

Sergio Mendes Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass * ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film * ''Se ...

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

Fourplay Fourplay (stylized as fOURPLAY) is a contemporary American smooth jazz quartet. The original members of the group were Bob James (keyboards), Lee Ritenour (guitars), Nathan East (bass), and Harvey Mason (drums). In 1997, Lee Ritenour left the ...

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

, and

Will Downing Wilfred "Will" Downing (born November 29, 1963) is an American singer and songwriter. He is married to singer Audrey Wheeler, who was a member of the R&B group Unlimited Touch. Biography Downing enrolled in Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, ...

, among others. Solo hits also include "Love Don't Love Nobody" and "One Heart, One Love." He is also featured on the ''Bebe's Kids'' soundtrack singing a track with the late Renee Diggs. Other film song credits include ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

'', ''

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'', ''

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'', '' Mr. Wonderful'', ''

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'',

Riding Bean is a 1989 anime original video animation following the exploits of courier-for-hire Bean Bandit and his partner, gunwoman Rally Vincent. A manga was also published in the Japanese magazine that was left unfinished (due to the closure of the ...

, ''

Captain Ron ''Captain Ron'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Thom Eberhardt, produced by David Permut, and written by John Dwyer for Touchstone Pictures. It stars Kurt Russell as the title character, a sailor with a quirky personality and a checker ...

'', and a cameo appearance in the 2009 release of the

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

film '' Crossing Over''. In 1991 he released his first solo album on

, and toured with labelmate

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...

for the next several years, going on to record 4 more albums. On

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, Perry was scheduled to perform at the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

's lunch-hour jazz concert series between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. As fate would have it, he was spared from the devastation of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. However, for the next few years, he sank into an artistic depression, and did not record again until invited by longtime friend Don Grusin, who he joined in September 2003 for a collaborative venture titled "The Hang." This CD/DVD project was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, and included Dave Grusin, Harvey Mason,

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...

, Natali Renee,

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

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Ernie Watts Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa's ...

, Lee Ritenour, and others. In 2006, former co-producer of the ''Magic'' album, Chris "Big Dog" Davis, urged Perry to record a collection of R&B hits titled ''Classic Love Songs'' as an independent one-off project for

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distribu ...

. Since that time, Perry has recorded four projects for that label with Davis, including a project with

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...

. In 2007 he reunited with Dave Koz and toured the country. The same year, he released the album "Mighty Love," for which he was voted the 2007 Male Vocalist of the Year in the SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards. In 2008, Perry recorded a duet album with Tony Award-winning vocalist Melba Moore titled "The Gift of Love." It was awarded the Duo Album of the Year Award in the SoulTracks Readers Choice Awards. After returning from a South African trip, Perry became ill during a performance with

Pieces of a Dream Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess * Pieces (video game), ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game f ...

, in October 2009, at Southern Connecticut State University. Unsubstantiated rumors began to circulate that he had died. While there is no definitive medical diagnosis for the collapse, he was treated at a local New Haven hospital and released with the strong recommendation that he take some time off and rest. In 2010, "Ready for Love" was released by Shanachie. Inspired to continue writing after his health scare, this effort featured more Phil Perry originals than in any of his earlier releases, which was said to be of great satisfaction to him. March 2013 saw the release of ''Say Yes'', his 10th solo album, and the 5th on Shanachie. It charted in the Top Ten on Billboard and A.C. Smooth jazz charts, as well as receiving Smooth Jazz top vocal credits. Two years after its release, ''Say Yes'' continued its steady climb to become one of Billboard's 2014 top smooth-jazz singles, featuring Perry in a classic duet cover of ''Where Is the Love?'' with

Chanté Moore Chanté Torrane Moore (born February 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, and author. Rising to fame in the early 1990s, Moore established herself as an R&B singer. Her debut studio album '' Precious'' w ...

. The 11th solo release from Perry on the Shanachie label—"''A Better Man''"—was #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart in the first week of its release.

Discography

* 1991 '' The Heart of the Man'' (

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

) * 1994 ''Pure Pleasure'' ( GRP/MCA) * 1998 ''One Heart One Love'' (

Private Music Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his former ...

) * 2000 ''My Book of Love'' (Private Music) * 2001 ''Magic'' (

Peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...

) * 2006 ''Classic Love Songs'' ( Shanachie) * 2007 ''A Mighty Love'' (Shanachie) * 2008 ''Ready for Love'' (Shanachie) * 2009 ''The Gift of Love'' (Shanachie) * 2013 ''Say Yes'' (Shanachie) * 2015 ''A Better Man'' (Shanachie) * 2017 ''Breathless'' (Shanachie) The Montclairs featuring Phil Perry * 1972 ''Dreaming Out of Season'' (Paula) With David Garfield * ''Together in the Arms of Love'' * ''Deep Within Each Man'' presented by Shorinji Kenpo (Japan) * ''Road Buster'' (1989 Riding Bean anime) * ''King of the Road'' (1989 Riding Bean anime) * ''Running the Road'' (1989 Riding Bean anime) With Kevin Sanlin * 1980 ''For Those Who Love'' (Capitol) * 1981 ''We're the Winners'' (Capitol)

Biography

Discography

References

External links