Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 11-6-15 Edition

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015
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Sentinel Exclusive:
Up Close And Personal With R&B Icon Eddie Levert
By Kenya Woodard Sentinel Feature Writer
The O’Jays were in the Bay area recently and one of its promoters thought it would be a good idea to talk to group leader, Eddie Lev- ert.
After nearly six decades in the music business, Eddie Levert, Sr. says he still has something to sing about.
The legendary crooner is well-known for his booming voice as the lead vocalist with the group, the O’Jays.
He’s returned to the studio to record a second solo album that’s scheduled for release early next year. The first sin- gle, “Did I Make You Go Ooh!” is receiving some radio play. It’s also available for purchase on his website, www.eddielevert.com. The song’s video was posted on YouTube in September.
He released his first solo album, Last Man Standing, in 2012, some years after the deaths of his singer sons, Gerald in 2006 and Sean in 2008.
O’Jays fans, take heart: Mr. Levert’s new song and album doesn’t mean he’s split from the legendary group.
Instead, he said this solo project is picking up where
he left off before he and the O’Jays ever came on the scene.
“I’m still in show business and part of a group,” he said. “I’m just resorting back to what I do.”
At age 73, and having at- tained much success and ac- colades, most entertainers of Mr. Levert’s stature would be content with a steady stream of concert dates and appearances. But he says there’s more he can do.
First formed as the Tri- umphs and then later known as the Mascots, the O’Jays is considered R&B royalty. In its heyday during the 1970s, the group churned out hit after hit on historic label, Philadelphia International Records, including a string of No. 1s like “Backstabbers”, “Love Train,” and “Use Ta Be My Girl.”
More recently, the group has earned a new generation of fans through its heavy tour schedule and annual appear- ance on the Tom Joyner Foundation’s Fantastic Voy- age cruise.
In 2005, the O’Jays was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2009 received the BET Life- time Achievement Award.
In recent years, Mr. Lev- ert has dealt with the
tragedies of losing two of his sons, singers, Gerald and Sean.
Gerald died in 2006 after ingesting a mix of prescrip- tion and over-the-counter drugs. His death was ruled accidental. Two years later, Sean was found dead in a jail cell after being denied pre- scription anti-anxiety med- ication.
Mr. Levert said he misses his sons “tremendously.”
“Some of my best mo- ments in show business were with those kids,” he said. “I wish I could have done a little bit more with them.”
In addition to being an artist in his own right, Ger- ald also wrote and produced for top acts like Anita Baker and James Ingram and helped establish the ca- reers of groups like Men At Large and The Rude Boys.
With the 10th anniversary of Gerald’s death approach- ing, could a tribute album be in the works?
“I think it’s a really great idea to do a tribute album,” Mr. Levert said. “He was such a prolific writer. He probably gets more airplay now than when he was alive.”
Mr. Levert said navigat- ing through this phase of his career reminds him when Gerald launched his suc- cessful solo career in 1991 after years of performing in the group LeVert with younger brother, Sean and friend, Marc Gordon.
It’s a full circle of sorts for Mr. Levert. When his teenage sons, Gerald and Sean expressed interest in following their dad in to the music business, Mr. Levert brought them under his wing, teaching them the ins and outs of the industry.
Now, Mr. Levert said he finds himself recalling con- versations with Gerald when he stepped out on his own and better understands when Gerald would talk
about how hard it was to manage everything as a solo artist.
“It’s a lot more work than being up there with two more people,” he said. “You are the individual they came to see, so you have to do every- thing.”
Mr. Levert said while he doesn’t feel pressured to keep up with sex-heavy focus of contemporary R&B, his new single does, it’s steamy with- out being explicit.
“You always want to cover new territory and I feel like music is timeless,” he said. “I know that I’m not 18 any- more, but I have an 18-year- old’s thoughts.”
Singer and songwriter Jill Scott, however, “really knocks me out right now,” he said.
“Some of these guys are my friends and they actually talk to me,” Mr. Levert said. “Some of them are on point and some of them are doing what they do.”
While some may decry the status of R&B music today, “a lot of these young kids have
got it,” he said.
“Music is still the same.
“You’ve always had crap that no one liked. It’s always been that way.”
He went on to say he ad- mires the business-savvy of today’s artists, who he ad- vises to “take care of the busi- ness.”
“In my day, they just wanted to be artists,” he said. “They didn’t want to own the record label. We were having too much fun and procrasti- nating.”
These days, he says he is much more business-focused than he was in his youth, making it possible for the O’- Jays to “command our own price.”
And it isn’t just Baby Boomers who are flocking to O’Jay’s concerts – the group’s music is winning over a younger audience as well, he said.
“If you can capture the imagination...they will buy you and make you popular,” he said. “That’s why we’re still in the business.”