Lenis Guess

[Chalky]

Is there a list of Lenis Guess productions anywhere?

Reason I ask is there was once a record covered up as Night Time Woman by Gy Hennigan at Stafford. He remembers the label being something to do with Lenis Guess and out of New Jersey but not the artist or label name. I'm trying to suss what it actually is.

[Roburt]

.......... BITS of a BIO I wrote some time back .............

"Lenis was one of the few who didn't have the time to wait to be discovered.... he discovered himself and let the world catch up to him. Lenis Guess is a genius without fear, and I'm proud to be able to call him my dear friend" so says Swamp Dogg. And if you impress Swamp, you must be someone special. Not only is Lenis Guess a talented singer, musician, song writer, producer and arranger but more than anything, he's a stayer. He is still an accomplished entertainer, some fifty plus years after he first recorded.

............. It was at this point that Frank Guida first entered his life. A recording contract was offered but Lenis' parents decided that he should complete his education, so he had to quit the group. He continued to write songs though and established recording star Kenneth Deal was so impressed with some of these that he took Lenis to meet local club owner George Perkins. The threesome decided to start a record label and just a year later, Lenis cut the self written "Thank Goodness" which soon became a top play locally. But the big fish in Norfolk record company circles was Frank Guida and so Lenis teamed up with him.

"Working For My Baby" was written, released on Guida's SPQR label and quickly shot towards the top of the local radio station singles charts (the cut was also played on Dick Clarke's American Bandstand, the most influential US TV music show back then).. Lenis performed at radio station WRAP's Music Award Show (held at the Chrysler Hall) and was voted best male vocalist of the year. Guida thought that "Working For My Baby" still had some life left in it, so this time coupling the track with "Just Ask Me", a new 45 was released. The single didn't instantly enjoy repeated commercial success, but with the passage of time, "Just Ask Me" became a top collector's item. The cut first found favour on the UK allnighter scene around 1972 and it quickly became a top sound at clubs such as the Golden Torch. Its continued popularity resulted in the track being licensed for UK release on Route in 1975. Back in the US, further releases by Lenis had continued to be issued, these being on the SPQR, LeGrand, New Faces & Norfolk International labels. "You Can't Destroy A Pure Man" was released on the Norfolk International label but despite its obvious class, it failed to sell in sufficient volume. Above all things, Frank Guida was an astute businessman. After almost allowing Lenis to take up residence in his recording studio to learn the technical side of the recording business, he grew tired of the scant returns his studio was generating. Losing interest, Guida quit the recording industry and returned to the retail side of things.

Thus Lenis found himself with the necessary skills to operate a recording studio but he had no studio in which to utilise them. He put matters right in 1970 when, in conjunction with Dorsey Brockington (a gifted engineer & sax player) he started Brockington & Guess Studios. He worked with the likes of Barbara Stant (Shiptown), Debbie Taylor, Oliver Christian, the 35th Street Gang (his studio musicians), Sir Guy, Calvin Wilson, Roy Hines & Reginald Wilson. On such sessions, Lenis would also play keyboards. He didn't totally neglect his own recording career though. In fact, he landed himself a contract with Polydor Records and they put "Super Woman" out in 1972. With the help of Swamp Dogg, a deal was done with Brunswick Records in 1974 for the release of the 35th Street Gang's "Come On Go With Me". The studio was in use almost continuously from the early to mid 70's, but money was still a scarce commodity. Because of this, many tracks remained in the can and those cuts that did make it onto 45, were pressed up in very limited numbers on labels such as DPG, Guess and LaShawn (thus creating almost instant collector's items). The studio was mainly known for its funk output, but the best cuts by Lenis to escape on DPG were "For All You've Been" & "Thank You Baby". Running the studio was always a struggle, but Lenis soldiered on even after Dorsey Brockington quit and left town. But in 1979, Lenis threw the towel in and relocated to New York, the days of the 'Norfolk Sound' were finally over.

Lenis set up on 8th Avenue in Manhattan and soon had another studio operational. He cut "I Keep Coming Back For More" and this was released on the Guess label in the 1980's. Lenis continued to cut both himself and other artists, his own 45's being released on both the Guess ("Purified By Love") and SOS: Sound Of Soul ("Falling Deeper In Love" - 1983) labels. A 12" release (featuring a picture cover) escaped on Guess in 1984: "I Can't Leave Your Love Alone", but commercial success largely continued to elude him. So he moved on, the proximity of Broadway inspiring him to start writing stage plays. A number of these have now been staged 'off Broadway' and Lenis also created the film character Lash.

Frank Guida had the likes of Lenis working in the studio on a daily basis .... both on his own recordings & on those of other Norfolk based singers / groups. Guida also released some stuff a number of times & on different labels .... sometimes having an artist re-record a song.

.... So tracking down all the recordings Lenis was involved with in Norfolk (let alone New York after he relocated) isn't the easiest of tasks.

Edited July 21, 2012 by Roburt

[Roburt]

I seem to recall that I have quite a few 45's / 12"ers on the Guess label (by other artists than Lenis) from the 1980's .

... ... could the track you're thinking of date from this late on ??