Biography
Examining stacks of obscure disco and boogie pressings issued from the late 1970s into the mid-1980s shows Leroy Burgess listed in the credits of nearly every other record, rendering any omission nothing more than an anomaly. Although he placed just a single single under his own name, Burgess contributed to countless sessions across fleeting studio ensembles and established ensembles alike, functioning as multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, producer, arranger, and songwriter whose influence shaped dance music throughout his most fertile stretch. Even absent any vocal recordings, his role in Black music and the emergence of house would remain secure, yet his supremely expressive, gospel-steeped baritone has drawn the greatest notice for capturing the life-affirming elation that comes from yielding completely to love; one such performance can momentarily ease every burden and dissolve cynicism.
Raised in Harlem, Burgess performed in church choirs and received instruction from Herbie Jones, an associate of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, while gaining additional insight informally from his mother, a onetime opera singer, and through occasional family gatherings with his uncle, legendary Philly soul arranger and producer Thom Bell. He began professionally in the late 1960s as one-third of the Mellow Sounds alongside Stuart Bascombe and Russell Patterson; still teenagers at the turn of the 1970s, the trio sought recording opportunities that materialized once producer, songwriter, and arranger Patrick Adams became involved and rechristened the group Black Ivory. Adams guided the act to a Top 40 R&B single with its debut, “Don’t Turn Around,” after funds were assembled for the session and the Today label took the risk following rejections elsewhere; the group never achieved widespread breakthrough. Burgess stayed until 1977, departing amicably after Black Ivory had issued several ballad-heavy soul LPs. He frequently co-wrote material with Bascombe, Patterson, and Adams, whose guidance left a lasting imprint that extended through Burgess’s subsequent work, including repeated collaborations with the producer.
Bascombe and Patterson later sought Burgess’s assistance for additional tracks needed on an album, prompting him to supply two numbers previously shelved from an uncompleted project: “Mainline” and “Hustlin’ (You Gotta Be Dancin’).” He further rejoined the studio temporarily to aid the recordings, an episode that marked a pivotal shift; “Mainline” quickly attained dancefloor-classic status and, together with “Weekend” (another Burgess composition cut for Adams’s Phreek), launched an ongoing sequence of projects too numerous for straightforward chronological listing. Burgess participated in various capacities on Bumblebee Unlimited’s “Love Bug,” Inner Life’s “Moment of My Life,” Dazzle’s “Reaching,” Phreek’s “Weekend,” the Fantastic Aleems’ “Get Down Friday Night,” Aleem’s “Release Yourself,” Intrigue’s “Fly Girl,” Caprice’s “100%,” High Frequency’s “Summertime,” Universal Robot Band’s “Barely Breaking Even,” and Change’s “You’re My Number One,” as well as releases by solo artists including Rick James, Dino Terrell, Fonda Rae, Venus Dodson, Ben E. King, Eddie Kendricks, Peter Jacques, and Narada Michael Walden. He routinely handled songwriting, arranging, production, vocal performance, and keyboards, covering nearly every step short of manufacturing and distribution.
Amid this activity, Burgess also led select ventures of his own. During a 1981 date with frequent collaborators bassist James Calloway and drummer Sonny Davenport, whose lineup with Burgess’s keyboards formed one of the era’s strongest rhythm sections in disco and boogie, producer Greg Carmichael granted leftover studio time for personal use. The outcome was the sweet, midtempo “Let’s Do It,” issued as Convertion and featuring interlocking, unconventional synth textures alongside Burgess’s characteristically radiant lead vocals and supporting harmonies from Dorothy Terrell and his sister Renee. The single initiated a partnership with Carmichael that produced the Logg album for Salsoul; legal complications with the SAM label, which had released “Let’s Do It,” barred further use of the Convertion name, so the ensemble continued as Logg and delivered its self-titled 1981 LP. Three singles emerged—“I Know You Will” (remixed by Larry Levan), “Dancing in the Stars,” and “You’ve Got That Something”—that typify the post-disco, pre-house period, while the remaining tracks proved equally sturdy; only “I Know You Will” charted, reaching number 81 on the Billboard dance list.
Burgess’s pace slowed by the close of the 1980s, although he maintained intermittent activity into the early 2000s through collaborations with Blaze, Glenn Underground, and Cassius. A preference for working under multiple aliases and with various ensembles, combined with releases on smaller labels offering minimal promotion and scant radio support for dance-oriented material, kept him from household recognition. Nevertheless, historically attuned house DJs consistently acknowledge his contributions. In 2002 the Soul Brother label compiled loose ends with The Anthology, Vol. 1: The Voice and The Anthology, Vol. 2: The Producer, around the same time Burgess resumed live appearances with Black Ivory.
Raised in Harlem, Burgess performed in church choirs and received instruction from Herbie Jones, an associate of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, while gaining additional insight informally from his mother, a onetime opera singer, and through occasional family gatherings with his uncle, legendary Philly soul arranger and producer Thom Bell. He began professionally in the late 1960s as one-third of the Mellow Sounds alongside Stuart Bascombe and Russell Patterson; still teenagers at the turn of the 1970s, the trio sought recording opportunities that materialized once producer, songwriter, and arranger Patrick Adams became involved and rechristened the group Black Ivory. Adams guided the act to a Top 40 R&B single with its debut, “Don’t Turn Around,” after funds were assembled for the session and the Today label took the risk following rejections elsewhere; the group never achieved widespread breakthrough. Burgess stayed until 1977, departing amicably after Black Ivory had issued several ballad-heavy soul LPs. He frequently co-wrote material with Bascombe, Patterson, and Adams, whose guidance left a lasting imprint that extended through Burgess’s subsequent work, including repeated collaborations with the producer.
Bascombe and Patterson later sought Burgess’s assistance for additional tracks needed on an album, prompting him to supply two numbers previously shelved from an uncompleted project: “Mainline” and “Hustlin’ (You Gotta Be Dancin’).” He further rejoined the studio temporarily to aid the recordings, an episode that marked a pivotal shift; “Mainline” quickly attained dancefloor-classic status and, together with “Weekend” (another Burgess composition cut for Adams’s Phreek), launched an ongoing sequence of projects too numerous for straightforward chronological listing. Burgess participated in various capacities on Bumblebee Unlimited’s “Love Bug,” Inner Life’s “Moment of My Life,” Dazzle’s “Reaching,” Phreek’s “Weekend,” the Fantastic Aleems’ “Get Down Friday Night,” Aleem’s “Release Yourself,” Intrigue’s “Fly Girl,” Caprice’s “100%,” High Frequency’s “Summertime,” Universal Robot Band’s “Barely Breaking Even,” and Change’s “You’re My Number One,” as well as releases by solo artists including Rick James, Dino Terrell, Fonda Rae, Venus Dodson, Ben E. King, Eddie Kendricks, Peter Jacques, and Narada Michael Walden. He routinely handled songwriting, arranging, production, vocal performance, and keyboards, covering nearly every step short of manufacturing and distribution.
Amid this activity, Burgess also led select ventures of his own. During a 1981 date with frequent collaborators bassist James Calloway and drummer Sonny Davenport, whose lineup with Burgess’s keyboards formed one of the era’s strongest rhythm sections in disco and boogie, producer Greg Carmichael granted leftover studio time for personal use. The outcome was the sweet, midtempo “Let’s Do It,” issued as Convertion and featuring interlocking, unconventional synth textures alongside Burgess’s characteristically radiant lead vocals and supporting harmonies from Dorothy Terrell and his sister Renee. The single initiated a partnership with Carmichael that produced the Logg album for Salsoul; legal complications with the SAM label, which had released “Let’s Do It,” barred further use of the Convertion name, so the ensemble continued as Logg and delivered its self-titled 1981 LP. Three singles emerged—“I Know You Will” (remixed by Larry Levan), “Dancing in the Stars,” and “You’ve Got That Something”—that typify the post-disco, pre-house period, while the remaining tracks proved equally sturdy; only “I Know You Will” charted, reaching number 81 on the Billboard dance list.
Burgess’s pace slowed by the close of the 1980s, although he maintained intermittent activity into the early 2000s through collaborations with Blaze, Glenn Underground, and Cassius. A preference for working under multiple aliases and with various ensembles, combined with releases on smaller labels offering minimal promotion and scant radio support for dance-oriented material, kept him from household recognition. Nevertheless, historically attuned house DJs consistently acknowledge his contributions. In 2002 the Soul Brother label compiled loose ends with The Anthology, Vol. 1: The Voice and The Anthology, Vol. 2: The Producer, around the same time Burgess resumed live appearances with Black Ivory.
Albums
Nothing Stays The Same (Two Soul Fusion Remixes)
2024
These Days
2023
Barely Breaking Even
2022
Somewhere
2021
Work It out / Til I Found You
2019
Throwback, Vol. 2 (Sugar Hill 83 - 86)
2015
Singles
