Leroy Leon Pendarvis (born 1945) is an American session musician. He plays keyboards and is a background vocalist. He is also an occasional guitarist.

Early life

The son of a first-grade primary school teacher, Pendarvis grew up in South Carolina. In addition to teaching, his mother was also pianist at their church. She also gave piano lessons to make extra money. The young Pendarvis graduated from climbing up on the bench to hit the keys to being taught by his mother. He also learned to play trumpet and saxophone. He also was a bass player when he came to New York.

Personal life

Pendarvis was previously married to Janice Gadsden, whom he had known since she was 13. They married some time after she left her parents place and moved in with her cousin Andrew Gadsden, who was Pendarvis's roommate. He was also previously married to former Los Jovenes del Barrio singer

Jillian Armsbury Jillian Armsbury (1962-2009) was an American singer-songwriter and activist, originally from Spokane, Washington. She was a pioneer in the Charanga R&B music genre. She was the lead singer of the Latin group Los Jovenes del Barrio. She had work ...

, who died in January 2009 from

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The area most commonly affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lini ...

. He married a woman named Josephine in 2018. Pendarvis is also a board member for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.

Career

Pendarvis played keyboards and provided the backing vocals for Richard Roundtree's 1972 album, ''The Man from Shaft''. Along with Janice Gadsden, he co-wrote "Sing a Happy Song" for

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

. He also produced the song which was released in 1978. He composed, recorded and mixed the original dramatic music for the music video " BAD" by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. By 2014, Pendarvis had been with the Saturday Night Live Band, playing keyboards for 30 years and was the longest serving member with the outfit. Along with guitarist Larry Campbell, and bass virtuoso

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A session bassist, he has played bass for a number of acts such as the Who, the John Mayer Trio, Gary Numan, Paul Young, Don Henle ...

, Pendarvis played on the 2018

Bettye LaVette Bettye LaVette (born Betty Jo Haskins, January 29, 1946) is an American soul singer who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, when her album '' I've Got My Own Hell to Raise'' was released to widespre ...

album '' Things Have Changed'', an album of songs by Bob Dylan which was released on

Verve Records Verve Records is an active American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ca ...

. Along with Richard Tee, Pendarvis played keyboards on the

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit " The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his c ...

& the Soul City Symphony album, ''Love Is the Answer'' which was released on Avco Records in 1974. He also played clavinet and piano on their next album '' Disco Baby'', which contained the massive hit in 1975, " The Hustle". He played on McCoy's album ''The Disco Kid'', which was released on Avco Records in 1975. Artists Pendarvis has worked with over the years include

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

on '' Streetlights'' (1974),

on '' Disco Baby'' (1975),

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

on " Still crazy after all these years" (1975),

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

on ''

Songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...

'' (1978),

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

on ''

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

'' (1986),

Don Johnson Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

on '' Let It Roll'' (1989),

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

on " Keep Holding On" (2006), and many more. He was at one time a member of the group Passion. He is also the musical director and conductor for NBC's ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' (SNL) Band, with which he has played since 1980. Since 1986 he has been a member of

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul music, soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast ...

band. He was the husband of singer and chorist Janice Pendarvis (born Janice Gadsden), who sang for

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

, Sting,

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, and the Naked Brothers Band.

References

External links

Discogs: Leon Pendarvis

Imdb: Leon Pendarvis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pendarvis, Leon 1945 births Living people American music directors American music arrangers 20th-century American keyboardists 21st-century American musicians African-American pianists American male organists Saturday Night Live Band members The Blues Brothers members 21st-century American organists 21st-century American keyboardists Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony musicians Date of birth missing (living people)