Leon Medica's name appears on over 90 albums and
10 movies. He received an American Music Award in 1989 for
producing Doobie Brother Tom Johnston's "Where Are You Tonight?"
on the Dirty Dancing movie and the over 42
million-selling soundtrack. For his participation as manager of
Anders Osborne, Leon received a 1998 Grammy Certificate for
Keb Mo's Slow Down album and a 3 Million Platinum Album Award
for the Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors album. In
1989 he received a Times Music Award for Best Bassist, and
Gambit Magazine's Song of the Century Award in 1999 for "New
Orleans Ladies." Leon received a Letter of Appreciation from
President Ronald Reagan, five USO Certificates of Appreciation,
six DOD Certificates of Esteem, a Louisiana Music Association
Lifetime Achievement Award, and is in the Louisiana Music Hall
of Fame.
Leon received a Grammy nomination in January, 2007,
for his work on Tab Benoit's Brother to the Blues album.
Tab's follow-up album, Power of the Pontchartrain, also with
members of LeRoux, was in the top 5 on Billboard's Blues chart
for over 15 weeks. LeRoux recently recorded a live double
album and DVD, Night Train to Nashville, with Tab Benoit,
Jimmy Hall, Kim Wilson,
Jim Lauderdale, Jeff Hanna, Waylon Thibodeaux, and
Johnny Sansone, which has been released and ranks #1 on Billboard's
Blues chart. Leon and members of LeRoux toured with Tab Benoit
throughout the US, Canada, and the Caribbean through the end of
2008.
Leon and LeRoux continued performing in 2009,
and are beginning a new project with Steve Cropper (Blues
Brothers, Booker T. & the MG's),
Jimmy Hall (Wet Willie), and Big Luther Kent
(Louisiana legend and singer with Blood, Sweat & Tears),
starting with the Spanish Town Mardi Gras Ball in Baton Rouge
and the Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, and continuing with dates in
2010 including Spanish Town Mardi Gras Ball. On January 29, 2010
Leon was inducted the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, and the
LMHOF Songwriters' Association Hall of Fame. "New Orleans
Ladies" is nominated for the Song of the Year in the Louisiana
Music Hall of Fame!
Leon and Ed White of White Oak
Productions put together an all-star band for a Texas Roadhouse
Corporate party on April 14, 2010 at The Statue of Liberty in
New York. The band includes members of LeRoux with Doobie
Brothers' Tom Johnson, Blues Brothers' Steve Cropper,
Wet Willie's Jimmy Hall, Jimi Jamison,
Toto's Dennis Frederiksen, and Journey's Steve Augeri.
Medica's musical journey began in the mid-1960s
in Alexandria, LA. His first musical experiences were playing clubs
with the short-lived Mossmen
and fraternity parties at LSU in Baton Rouge with The Brick Wall. As he became more
proficient on the bass, he had the opportunity to record with such
Baton Rouge blues greats as Silas Hogan, Whispering Smith, Henry Gray,
Arthur (Guitar) Kelley, and Clarence Edwards. He
also had the opportunity to work with legendary arranger
Wardell Quezergue, whose compliment, "You're an uncut
diamond," inspired Medica to become a studio session bassist. By the end of the '60s, his band
Smoke
had opened for Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Who, and
Flaming
Cat had opened for Creedence Clearwater
Revival, The Young Rascals, and The Youngbloods.
The decade was highlighted by a performance with Flaming Cat
at the New Orleans International Pop Festival opening for
It's a Beautiful Day, the Grateful Dead, and
Santana, and playing in Chuck Berry's
band at the Festival of Man & Earth.
His first major break came in 1972 when he performed
music with Goatleg and acted on Broadway in New York in "Earl of Ruston." That
was followed by four months of performing in London, England and
a year in the Off-Broadway hit "Iphiginia" starring
Tommy Lee Jones. Leon had the opportunity to record the
cast album with legendary drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie,
who complimented Leon as the "Rock of Gibraltar" on his playing technique and gave him the
confidence to pursue further studio work.
After moving back to Baton Rouge, he recorded and toured with the
band Potliquor and opened for Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac,
Savoy
Brown, Santana, Charlie Daniels, and The
Eagles, to name a few, and performed again with Chuck
Berry. With Bill Wray, Leon opened for Joe Cocker
and Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
A production company in Denver,
Colorado contacted Medica
to become part of a studio band, and he jumped at the opportunity
to improve his studio bass chops and production skills. Members
of the studio band included engineer/keyboardist Cyrus Frost, Criteria Studio session guitarist
Joey Murcia and drummer Tubby Zeigler, as well as
guitarist Henry "Bootsie” Normand and keyboardists
Wayne DeVillier and John Bergeron.
He returned
to Bogalusa, Louisiana's Studio in the County, recording with such
greats as Clifton Chenier, Gatemouth Brown, Betty Davis (Miles Davis'
wife), and the French superstar Dick Rivers. This was also the time
that Medica co-wrote "New Orleans Ladies," and the band
Louisiana's
LeRoux was formed.
After touring the United States and Africa with Gatemouth
Brown, Leon secured a publishing agreement for himself and Jeff
Pollard with Paul Tannen at Screen Gems/EMI Music
Publishing. With the help of manager William E. McEuen/The
Aspen Recording Society, and the guidance of attorney John
Frankenheimer, LeRoux signed with Capitol Records
(1978-1980). In 1979 Medica enlisted the help of manager Budd Carr
at The Carr Company. LeRoux once again, with the guidance of
attorney John Frankenheimer, signed with RCA (1981-1983).
From 1977 through 1983, Medica produced and wrote songs for four
of the five LeRoux albums, co-managed, and went on
numerous
tours and many TV performances including Solid Gold,
Midnight Special, and Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. At the
same time, he began writing and producing songs for movies.
Leon and George Martin at Air Studio,
London, England
Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.
From 1984 through 1988, he was asked to join the
USO All-Star band to perform overseas for one month each year. Leon,
along with Phil Ehart and other members of Kansas,
Tom Johnston
and Pat Simmons of The Doobie Brothers, Steve Morse,
Steven Stills,
members from Cheap Trick, Pablo Cruise, and Tom
Costa from Santana's band, formed the
First Airborne Rock & Roll Band and toured over twenty foreign countries
over that four-year period. On one overseas USO tour, he acted as
tour manager for Randy Travis and Patty Loveless.
In that same time period, he also gave his time
and talent to five Music & Tennis tournaments with pro tennis
players and celebrity musicians throughout the United States.
Being one of the few bass players at these events, Medica had
the opportunity to play with numerous artists, including
Kansas, Alan Parsons, REO Speedwagon,
Ambrosia, Survivor, Pablo Cruise, The
Commodores, Loverboy, Atlanta Rhythm Section,
and Paul Davis. A highlight for Leon was playing with
Carlos Santana at the Concord, California Pavilion. These
events raised millions of dollars for the Butch Walts
Urologic Cancer Research Foundation and the National
Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS) Educational
Fund.
From 1987 through 1989, Leon recorded and performed
with Cajun rocker Zachary Richard, touring the US, Canada, and Europe
many times. One of Medica's biggest achievements was producing
Tom
Johnston of The Doobie Brothers on the multi-platinum "Dirty Dancing"
Soundtrack, one of the biggest-selling soundtracks of all time.
Throughout the '90s and to the present day he
continues writing, producing, and doing studio work. Adding his
bass chops to recordings with country artist Vern Gosden
and R&B's Maurice Williams, and producing Becky Hobbs'
"The Boots I came to Town In" are among his numerous credits. He
toured Europe one last time with his old friend, the late Gatemouth Brown.
From his involvement in the management and production of LeRoux
for over 30 years, he became involved with Mark Niederhauser
in the short-lived Open Door Management, securing a
publishing and recording agreement for Audra & Alayna Bennett
on Sony. He managed and produced five albums for Grammy-winning
artist Anders Osborne on Sony and Shanachie Records and
an album on Brian McComas on Disney's Lyric Street
Records. All with the services of attorney John Frankenheimer.
He also produced Wayne Toups' Little Wooden Box on
Shanachie Records and managed and produced Beau Braswell
on BMR Records.
Leon endorses
Analysis Plus cables,
Peavey Electronics,
Category
5 amps, and
PreSonus.
