Tribute to Leroy Burgess

The Rare Groove Show

You may know Leroy Burgess for his vocal on 'You and I' by Black Ivory, recently sampled by Q Tip on his track Gettin' Up.
But from Black Ivory aged 17 to The Universal Robot Band, Aleem and Logg, Leroy Burgess is the man behind many records you know and love. His partnership with Patrick Adams in the late 70s and early 80s produced classics such as Barely Breakin' Even, Heartbreaker, Weekend by Phreek and Hustling by the aformentioned Black Ivory.
Leroy Burgess is undoubtedly the link between 70's soul, disco, boogie and the modern Chicago house of today and his groundbreaking influence can be heard in much of today's popular dance music. Listen to any Aleem track and you'll hear his influence on house producers.
It's been noted that Leroy's voice is the sound of happiness and positivity and hopefully that comes across in this mix. I've included mostly tracks with Leroy on vocals but he is also an ace writer, keyboard player and producer of female vocals for Phreek, Class Action and Fonda Rae among others.
Leroy Burgess is an unsung genius and is still recording. Go out, find out about him and buy his records.
Thanks to Laurence at Soul Brother Records for hooking me up with some of the hard to find cuts.