One morning early in 1971 Stuart Bascombe, Russell Patterson and Patrick Adams boarded a bus at New York Port Authority traveling to Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia was the home of Sigma Sound Studio, owned by Joe Tarsia, where many of the hit records that inspired us were recorded. Leroy did not travel with us because without his parents permission to miss school, he conspired to join us later in the day after tracks had begun to be laid. I learned for the first time on this trip that pretzels in…

Please join the members of Black Ivory in wishing Leroy Burgess a Happy 60th Birthday. Leroy is a founding member of the group and is the earliest remaining member to join. Leroy Burgess is the voice most often associated with the group having sung lead on the majority of Black Ivory's most popular recordings. He is the groups musical director, a prolific songwriter and has expanded his musical influence well beyond his work with the group. For more background on Mr. Burgess please read his bio on this…

Afronautical Artifacts ... or ”Yo dude, what happened to your ‘fro?”

Stuart Bascombe - March 9, 2013

Welcome Black Ivory fans and other visitors. This is the first installation of The Black Ivory Blog. I’ve never done a blog before, so I am certain that there will be some changes as time goes on and themes begin to develop. The main focus of this blog will be to reveal personal reflections on our experiences, recordings and the people that have played major roles in our careers. I am sure that you…