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Phil Perry

Born and raised in East St. Louis, Phil Perry has spent most of his career as one of the most sought-after backing vocalists in the music business. His bright, multi-octave range has played a supporting role on dozens of albums by such acts as Anita Baker, Boz Scaggs, Rod Stewart, Peabo Bryson and George Duke. But he has also distinguished himself through five strong solo albums that have highlighted both his ability to interpret classic soul songs as well as his own songwriting skills.

Perry first came to the attention of Soul Music fans as the lead singer of the Montclairs, whose "Begging's Hard to Do" was a moderate hit in 1972. In 1985 he married soul/jazz singer Lillian "Tang" Tynes, and began a marriage partnership that has lasted ever since. After a brief stint as part of the singing duo Perry and Sanlin, Perry went solo in 1991 with The Heart of a Man, an album most notable for Perry's sheer guts (or some thought audacity) in releasing as a single a remake of Aretha Franklin's "Call Me." It was a real coming out for Perry, as he ripped through the song in bold fashion, even surpassing Aretha's revered original version.

His follow-up album, 1994's Pure Pleasure, was perhaps his best, and included fantastic remakes of "After the Love is Gone" and "If Only You Knew" and a seven minute cover of the Spinners' "Love Don't Love Nobody" that was sheer magic. During the 90s, Perry also received increased coverage on Smooth Jazz radio through his guest work on albums by Lee Ritenour, the Rippingtons and others, and inspired Windham Hill subsidiary Private Music to sign Perry, along with Barry White and Peabo Bryson, in an attempt to become the major label in the confluence of the Urban Adult Contemporary and Smooth Jazz formats.

His Private Music debut, One Heart One Love, was aimed straight at the Smooth Jazz market and hit the top five on the back of its killer title track, despite being perhaps his weakest album. His follow-up album, My Book of Love, received less attention, but was a far stronger album. Book was also the album on which Perry began to take a more active role in songwriting and production, putting his personal imprint beyond the vocal performance. This led to his lead songwriting role on 2001's Magic, an excellent album on Peak Records that showed Perry in complete control over his music.

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146
Album Review

Phil Perry: One Heart One Love

Read "One Heart One Love" reviewed by Dave Hughes


Phil Perry has spent much of his career amassing a long list of credits as a background singer or a "sideman" vocalist (extensive work with Lee Ritenour, for example). He's released albums under his own name before, but hasn't quite made it into the "household name" category. His latest offering,One Heart One Love, should go a long way towards placing Perry where he belongs, in the same echelon with other romantic, soulful crooners such as Luther Vandross and ...

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1

Festival

Phil Perry Performs Despite Pacemaker Operation

Phil Perry Performs Despite Pacemaker Operation

Source: Dee Dee McNeil

Phil Perry performed Saturday, May 25th at the San Diego Jazz Festival with the Kim Waters band. It's questionable if anyone in the crowd had the faintest idea that Phil Perry had gone into the hospital just three days prior to the festival and had his heart Pacemaker replaced and a new one installed along with a Defibulator. Perry sang with the same exuberance and high tenor musicality that his fans expected. Later, in his hotel room, he shyly displayed ...

1

Recording

Singer Phil Perry Says Yes With New Album On March 12 Via Shanachie Entertainment

Singer Phil Perry Says Yes With New Album On March 12 Via Shanachie Entertainment

Source: 1888 Media

Soulful Mix of Originals And Inspired Reinterpretations Of Classic Songs By Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Michael McDonald & Carly Simon And Sam Cooke Featuring Special Guests Chanté Moore And Najee New York, NY: A great vocalist has a way of inhabiting a song, living it and making it their own. It takes especially great powers of interpretation for a singer to take a song definitively recorded by a legendary artist and give it new life with a fresh interpretation. Phil ...

46

Interview

Notes from the Net: Phil Perry's New Collaboration; Mtume vs. Crouch; Plus News, Reviews, Interviews, and More

Notes from the Net: Phil Perry's New Collaboration; Mtume vs. Crouch; Plus News, Reviews, Interviews, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest: In this week's Miles Davis-related news, Davis' former percussionist James Mtume and journalist and critic Stanley Crouch recently debated the merits of the trumpeter's electric music of the 1970s, and their discussion was captured on video and posted online. Most ...

140

Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Kenny Barron and Mulgrew Miller, Jonathan Butler, Phil Perry, and More

Jazz This Week: Kenny Barron and Mulgrew Miller, Jonathan Butler, Phil Perry, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week's schedule of jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes several shows featuring keyboard players, starting tonight when pianists Kenny Barron and Mulgrew Miller (pictured) begin a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. Both men are considered to be among the top piano players in mainstream jazz , and being able to hear them together, working out on a pair of nine-foot Steinway grands, is a rare opportunity. For more about Miller and Barron, and some videos ...

129

Performance / Tour

Jeremy Davenport, Phil Perry to Perform in Fall Twilight Tuesdays Concerts

Jeremy Davenport, Phil Perry to Perform in Fall Twilight Tuesdays Concerts

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

The Missouri History Museum has announced the schedule for its fall series of Twilight Tuesdays concerts, and the lineup includes a couple of shows that will be of particular interest to jazz fans.Trumpeter, singer and St. Louis native Jeremy Davenport will perform on Tuesday, September 7, and singer and former East St. Louisan Phil Perry (pictured) will take the Twilight Tuesdays stage on Tuesday, September 28. Fans of classic soul also may enjoy guitarist Ernie Isley of the ...

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Music Industry

Notes from the Net: Phil Perry Recovering; the Continuing Legend of Miles Davis; Plus News, Reviews, Interviews, and More

Notes from the Net: Phil Perry Recovering; the Continuing Legend of Miles Davis; Plus News, Reviews, Interviews, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest.* Starting, as we usually do, with some Miles Davis items, it seems that the impending release of Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection, the upcoming book The Blue Moment by Richard Williams, and the exhibit “We Want ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Say Yes

Shanachie Records
2013

buy

One Heart One Love

Private Music
1999

buy

Can't Hide Love Ft. Najee

From: Say Yes
By Phil Perry

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