Phil Perry  

Perry's been "doing his best" since about age ten in his hometown of East St. Louis, when the nuns at
his parochial school were blown away by a hymn he sang for Midnight Mass; he also learned gospel
singing with his pianist mother at her Baptist church. He launched his professional career with 70's
soul group The Montclairs, scoring hits like "Make Up For Lost Time" and "Dreamin' Out of Season"
before cutting two albums for Capitol as part of the duo Perry & Sandlin. After the duo split,
Perry established himself as a first call background vocalist and session singer in Los Angeles. His
trademark has been versatility-singing at local clubs with Lee Ritenour; doing studio dates with James
Ingram, Quincy Jones, famed composer Michel Colombier, Sergio Mendes, George Duke, Barbra
Streisand and Patti Labelle; singing the title theme from Arthur II; and touring in Japan, the Pacific
Rim, Europe and Brazil with Ritenour and others.When Capitol Records executives heard him sing at
a Ritenour date at the Hollywood Bowl, they signed him again to the label for the acclaimed 1991
recording Heart of the Man, which spawned the #1 R&B hit "Call Me," a cover of a classic Aretha
Franklin tune. Performances with Dave Koz, recording dates with Fourplay (on "Between the
Sheets") and a vocal on GRP's The Benoit/Freeman Project increased Perry's popularity in smooth
jazz circles and led to a deal with GRP. The acclaimed Pure Pleasure (1994) featured the hit singles
"If Only You Knew" and "Love Don't Love Nobody." One Heart, One Love (1998) was Perry's
debut recording for Peak Records via their then distribution through Private Music/Windham Hill;
he then released My Book of Love on Peak/Private in 2000. He's toured onand off with the Rhythm
of Love Tour since 1997 and also contributed several vocal tracks to the Ritenour-produced Twist of
Marley. His latest album is "Magic" from 2001.