Representative Albums: "The Best of LeVert," "The Big Throwdown," "Just Coolin'"
Representative Songs: "Casanova," "(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My," "Addicted to You"
Biography
The son of O'Jays founder Eddie LeVert, R&B vocalist Gerald LeVert launched his own recording career in the mid-'80s as the leader of the group LeVert. Rounding out the group was another one of Eddie LeVert's sons, Sean, in addition to member Marc Gordon, as the trio issued such popular recordings as 1985's I Get Hot, 1986's Bloodline (which spawned the number one hit single "Pop Pop Pop Goes My Mind"), 1987's The Big Throwdown, and 1988's Just Coolin', as the latter two releases earned gold certification. By the '90s, Gerald began to split his time between LeVert and a burgeoning solo career (including a collaboration with his father, titled Father and Son), as LeVert released such further hit albums as 1990's Rope a Dope Style, 1993's For Real Tho', and 1997's Whole Scenario. 2001 saw the release of a 14-track compilation of LeVert's hits, The Best Of, on Rhino Records. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
In 1985, the group released their debut album, I Get Hot, which included tracks whose vocals drew strong comparisons to those of Sean and Gerald Levert's father Eddie. Bloodline followed in 1986, and included the band's first big R&B hit with (Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind, a track that went all the way to number one. However, the band's next album, 1987's The Big Throwdown became an even bigger success, on the strength of the hit single "Casanova", which gave the band a crossover hit onto the pop charts, peaking at number 5 in this market and making the UK Top 10. A pair of additional R&B top five singles, "My Forever Love" and "Sweet Sensation," were also released from this album. The band's success continued with their 1988 follow-up album Just Coolin'. Both The Big Throwdown and Just Coolin' received gold certification.
Gerald died due to an accidental overdose of over-the-counter and prescription drugs in November 2006.[1],[2] He had been planning a reunion at the time of his death.[citation needed]
The group's reunion plans were still alive, as the group replaced Gerald with Dwight Thompson, a fellow Cleveland native who was a member of R&B group The Rude Boys, which Levert discovered. Before the group started recording their new album Levert Dedication, Dwight Thompson left the group to return to the Rude Boys replacing Larry Marcus as their fourth member. Levert then brought in fellow Cleveland native Blaq Rose[3]
