Here’s another sweet slice of Northern Soul from the vaults – a smooth ballad that introduced The Montclairs in 1969.

An East St. Louis soul vocal group named after a local brand of cigarettes, they recorded a series of fine heartache ballads like this in that deserved better fates than they got.

Kevin Sanlin, Phil Perry, George McLellan, David Frye, and Clifford ‘Scotty’ Williams made their debut in 1969 for Arch Records with Perry showing off his sweet falsetto on Hey You! Don’t Fight It, who co-written by Perry and Frye’s brother Keith Frye – who also produced it.

The following year they teamed up with bandleader/producer Oliver Sain at his Archway Studio and Sain arranged for the group to be signed by Paula Records, based on Shreveport, Louisiana, where they made most of their better known recordings.

None of their singles ever cracked the R&B Top 30, though two of them – the lavishly orchestrated Beggin’ Is Hard to Do and Dreaming Out Of Season – came close, and others such as Prelude To A Heartbreak and Make Up For Lost Time are also fondly remembered by soul fans.

Oh and they are not to be confused with the early 1960s soul group The Monclairs from Cleveland, Ohio.