Leroy Burgess

Leroy Burgess is a New York-born songwriter, singer and disco producer associated with soul, R&B and disco. Born in 1953, he works as a vocalist, writer and producer across a series of group projects and studio collaborations.

Black Ivory

Burgess is a member of Black Ivory and sings lead on most of the group’s early 1970s hits. The group records for Today/Perception, a small East Coast label run by Patrick Adams, who also manages them. Burgess also writes songs with Adams. With Black Ivory, he appears on a run of R&B hits in the 1970s including “Don’t Turn Around”, “You And I”, “I’ll Find A Way (The Loneliest Man In Town)”, “Spinning Around”, “What Goes Around (Comes Around)” and “Will We Ever Come Together”. Although the band also records uptempo material such as “Big Apple Rock”, “Walking Downtown (On A Saturday Night)” and “What Goes Around (Comes Around)”, it struggles to compete as disco becomes dominant. “Mainline”, written by Burgess after he leaves the group, is recorded later by Black Ivory. Two CDs compile his work with the band, including one covering an early album and another collecting the first two albums.

Other groups and studio work

After Black Ivory, Burgess joins Aleem, who have hits with “Confusion”, “Release Yourself” and “Hooked On Your Love”. He also continues working with Patrick Adams in several studio groups. He is featured as vocalist with Bumble Bee Unlimited, Logg, Inner Life, The Universal Robot Band, the Peter Jacques Band, Dazzle and M.O.D.E., and he sings lead on “Much Too Much” by Phreek. He writes and produces a substantial number of songs for these acts as well. His credits include “Big Time” for Rick James and the Bob Blank production of Fonda Rae’s “Over Like A Fat Rat”, on which he writes and performs. He also contributes background vocals and keyboard parts to many productions.

Connections

Burgess is related to Thom Bell and to Kool & The Gang members Robert “Kool” Bell, Ronald Bell (Khalis Bayyan) and Amir Bayyan (Kevin Bell) of the Kay-Gees.