Russell Patterson (born April 1, 1954) – What Goes Around (Comes Around) (1974)
The longtime Black Ivory member sang on this phenomenal, upbeat disco-funk jam, recorded in Philly and arranged by Vince Montana.
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Singer Russell Patterson is a member of Black Ivory, one of the greatest soul/R&B vocal groups of the early 1970s and possibly the only one still performing today with all their original members.
Born in Harlem, Patterson lived all over New York City with his grandmother and aunts before moving with his mother to Brooklyn. When he was thirteen he returned to Harlem to live with his father, who was a part of the jazz scene and introduced him to Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He attended the Harlem School Of The Arts for a short time and started classical voice training, but his father let him transfer schools when he explained that what he really wanted to do was learn to sing like Elvis.
See our earlier posts on Patterson, his fellow Black Ivory member Leroy Burgess, and their first producer Patrick Adams for more on the group’s history.
Their producer and manager Patrick Adams wrote or co-wrote all the songs on their second album Baby Won't You Change Your Mind, and co-produced it with songwriter/producer David Jordan. Released in December, 1972 on Today Records, it featured highlights like the heartfelt breakup song “It's Time to Say Goodbye” and the beautiful closing cut “Wishful Thinking” with its poetic spoken word intro.
The following year, Black Ivory released the stellar non-LP single “We Made It” (1973), arranged and produced by Adams and co-written by himself plus Burgess and songwriter T. Phillips.
In 1974, Black Ivory parted ways with their label Today Records. According to Stuart Bascombe in a 2019 interview, “they took us as far as they could and we had issues with our royalties.” They had to choose between two labels affiliated with Warner Bros., Kwanza Records and Casablanca. Kwanza offered them a $10,000 advance, double what Casablanca put on the table, so they signed with them. Bascombe recalled this decision with regret:
“Had we gone with Casablanca, we would have been one of the first big signings for Neil Bogart, and who knows how that would have changed our career. They were not such a big label at the time.”
Instead, they recorded one single for Kwanza in Philadelphia, where they were told they would get to work with Norman Harris, who they admired from his production work on Blue Magic’s albums. As Patterson explained in 2019, “We were so excited to work with Norman Harris the supremo Philadelphia producer who had turned out so many hits with so many groups.” Unfortunately, Harris did not produce them, but he did arrange their single’s B-side, the mellow ballad “No One Else Will Do.”
Veteran Philly arranger and bandleader Vince Montana arranged its A-side, the phenomenal, upbeat disco-funk jam “What Goes Around (Comes Around)” (1974) which was co-written by Philly songwriters Jerry Akines, Johnny Bellman, Reginald Turner, and Victor Drayton. The single was credited to “A Hit Factory Production (A.B.B.D.T.).” Both sides were backed by other members of MFSB including Ronnie Baker on bass and Earl Young on drums.
Happy 70th Birthday to the great Russell Patterson.
Further info:
“Black Ivory returns with 'Continuum',” SoulTracks.com, 2011.
“Fitzroy Speaks with Black Ivory,” The Soul Survivors Magazine, October 2, 2019.
#soul #funk #disco #BlackIvory #RussellPatterson