With brother Sean Levert and Marc Gordon, formed group LeVert, early 1980s with LeVert released album I Get Hot on independent Tempre label, 1985 signed to Atlantic Records, 1985 with LeVert released Bloodline, first of a series of top-selling albums, 1986 began producing albums for other artists, late 1980s launched solo career with album Private Line, 1991 recorded and performed with Eddie Levert, 1995 with Keith Sweat and johnny Gill, released Levert Sweat Gill, 1997 released love & Consequences, 1998.Īwards: At least three gold albums with group LeVert gold and platinum albums for solo releases.Īddresses: label -East West Records, 74 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10019.Īlbum ’s lead single, “Casanova, ” reached Number One on the R&B charts and crossed over to the pop charts. The At a Glance …īorn July 13, 1966, in Philadelphia, PA raised in Cleveland, OH son of Eddie Levert, founder and lead vocalist of the O ’Jays.Ĭareer: Rhythm-and-blues vocalist, producer, and songwriter. LeVert ’s second album, The Big Throwdown, was released in 1987 and sold more copies than Bloodline. However, the sophisticated production work on the LeVert albums gave them a contemporary style. The group, moreover, was clearly steeped in the classic soul harmonies of the O ’Jays. Observers of the music scene noticed that Levert ’s voice closely resembled his father ’s. LeVert became an overnight success, hitting Number One on the R&B charts with the single “(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind, ” from their Atlantic debut album, Bloodline. As a result, the group came to the attention of Atlantic Records and was signed to that label. Despite the waning influence of small independent labels in the 1980s, LeVert ’s album I Get Hot and its lead single “I ’m Still ” gained regional popularity in the influential R&B market of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. In the mid-1980s, the group landed a contract with the independent label Tempre. Toward the end of their high school years the group, performing under the name LeVert, made appearances at Ohio nightclubs. In addition to enjoying their father ’s encouragement, the Leverts and Gordon could perfecttheir music skills in the fully equipped studio that was part of the Levert household. Growing up in a musical environment had its advantages. He and his brother Sean hooked up with a school friend, Marc Gordon, who sang and played keyboards. Although his father and the rest of the O ’Jays worked primarily in Philadelphia, Gerald and his siblings spent their formative years in Cleveland, Ohio. By the late 1990s he was still a leading album seller and concert headliner, and although he worked widely as a producer and was keenly aware of contemporary musical trends, in his own music he kept the focus where it had always been -on the vocals. Levert came onto the music scene in the middle 1980s as part of the trio LeVert, and embarked on a solo career in 1991. His father was Eddie Levert, lead vocalist and organizer of the O ’Jays, themselves an R&B act of unusual staying power. The son of one of the classic soul era ’s best-loved group leaders, Gerald Levert demonstrated the staying power of R&B vocal styles in an era when technologically driven musical genres such as hiphop gradually gained ascendancy.
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