Black Ivory was the pride of Harlem – and New York’s answer to the Philly-Fine Delfonics – but with in*nitely more teen sex appeal. This silky-smooth 70s harmony trio featured the fabulous falsetto lead of Leroy Burgess (nephew of Philly soul legend, Thom Bell) and charted four top-40 R&B singles and two top-30 LPs under the guiding hand of their manager and TODAY records’ driving force, Patrick Adams. Songs like, “You and I”, “Time is Love” and “Don’t Turn Around” (which they performed live on Soul Train) are acknowledged Sweet Soul classics. And as the decade progressed and tastes changed, they successfully conquered the disco dance*oors with fave-raves like, “Mainline” and “Walking Downtown (Saturday Night) for BUDDAH records – which were liberally sampled by the Hip-Hop generation – a true testament to the staying power of their incessantly soulful sound.
