Black Ivory

Formed in Harlem, Black Ivory comprised Leroy Burgess, Stuart Bascombe, and Russell Patterson, a standout soul ensemble whose recordings spanned the 1970s and resurfaced at intervals in later decades. Emerging from the late-1960s outfit known as the Mellow Souls, the trio came under the guidance of Patrick Adams, formerly of the Sparks, who refined his songwriting, arranging, and production abilities while working with Black Ivory.

To finance the group’s debut single, “Don’t Turn Around,” Adams gathered whatever funds he could assemble, then shopped the resulting demo to various labels that showed little interest until Today Records responded favorably and offered a contract based on the track’s merits. Written by Adams, the song reached number 38 on the R&B chart in 1971, marking Black Ivory’s initial commercial breakthrough; the same label promptly hired the still-teenage Adams for an A&R role.

Additional Top 40 R&B singles backed the trio’s first album, the 1972 release titled Don’t Turn Around, which stayed on the charts for nearly five months and climbed to number 13 despite its small independent imprint. That momentum carried into a second LP, Baby, Won’t You Change Your Mind, which generated further singles and peaked at number 26. Financial difficulties at Today, coupled with unpaid royalties, prompted the group to fulfill the final year of its agreement under strained circumstances.

After parting from Today, Black Ivory recorded briefly for the Kwanza label, where “What Goes Around (Comes Around),” written and produced by the Akines-Bellman-Drayton-Turner team, registered modestly on the R&B chart. Popularity continued to slip even after the trio moved to Buddah, a label possessing greater resources, and subsequent efforts failed to recapture earlier success; by this point Adams had ceased production duties and withdrawn from involvement altogether.

Burgess departed amicably in 1977 to pursue other projects, yet he rejoined temporarily in 1978 to supply the group’s most celebrated recording, the disco classic “Mainline,” along with “Hustlin’ (You Gotta Be Dancin’).” At the urging of then-manager Leonard Adams, who inquired whether Burgess had material available for an upcoming album, the songwriter contributed two tracks originally slated for an unrealized project, then stayed long enough to handle arrangements and backup vocals. “Mainline” quickly became Black Ivory’s signature piece and a dance-floor favorite.

Black Ivory had disbanded by the start of the 1980s. Patterson revived the name in the mid-1980s alongside David Hart and Lenny Adams, but the absence of the other original members limited the new lineup’s viability, and the configuration proved short-lived. In the early 2000s Bascombe, Patterson, and Burgess reconvened for occasional performances. By then Burgess had earned cult status as a foundational figure in house music, releasing numerous disco and boogie tracks under various pseudonyms that continue to resonate with fans of melodic dance music; he maintained periodic collaborations with Patrick Adams, the influential arranger, producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist behind numerous landmark recordings. Patterson also contributed vocals to the 1981 Logg singles issued on Salsoul.