Sixteen years later, sixteen years have gone. I went into the music business thinking that as soon as we cut that group's record, you were a hit and you were famous and you were getting all of this great money and everything was okay. LEVERT: Be confident because, you know, I've had a lot of heartbreaking. Listen, you know, you don't get your heart broken if you try to go against you, right? Right. And I read that you told him, as I would imagine a lot of fathers do. And - you're the first person that seems to grasp that, that I - it's almost like me and him are still doing our thing and we're working, and I'm out here on the road with him and we're promoting our new product, our new idea and along with the book, we got a CD called "Something to Talk About." We're doing - so it's almost like having him next to me but not, you know, not the physical part, just the great vibe, stuff like that.ĬOX: As a father of world's famous, you know, group, The O'Jays, and here comes your son, Gerald, little Gerald, who is like dad, you know, I want to do what you're doing. LEVERT: I'm fine until those kind of situations come and then the gravity of what's going on and what has happened, it comes to me and I have to pull myself back together.ĬOX: Well, you know, the book, it seems to me from having read and that this is an opportunity to keep Gerald with you. And as I'm listening to him, telling me how great the show was and how much he loved me and he's just bawling and then I started bawling just listening to it, you know what I'm saying? And through his whole message, he was very emotional. LEVERT: And so now - I didn't get a chance to speak to him over the phone live but he left me a message. And he was in pieces, you know what I'm saying? And then it's like this morning, my grandson, Gerald's son, Lemicah, he called me to tell me about the show. Every day is - some days, you know, I feel like I've - I'm getting better and I'm over it.
LEVERT: But, you know, it was a - every day is a little bit different. (Soundbite of The O'Jays' "Stairway to Heaven") I have to say that I had to pull myself together, and say, well, okay, this - Eddie, this is just another performance.īut he is sorely missed by myself and - I'm pretty sure a lot of his fans and the - and a lot of my peers are very sympathetic and very, you know, they are standing by me and they all come up and say, how are you really doing? How are - and then they'll say, how are you doing? And then they'll say, how are you really doing like I'm lying? Now, when it got for the shooting and I see all of my contemporaries out there and they all stand up and then the fans stand up, it became a very emotional moment for me after. LEVERT: You know, in actuality it was much easier at rehearsal because it was only just me, the orchestra, Patti, Gladys and Yolanda, and the choir, and a lot of empty chairs out there. I've a son actually - how hard was it for you to do that? It was a tribute to your late son, Gerald.Īs a father - I'm a father, too. Because that performance that you did with Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle and with Yolanda Adams, it was very touching. But the first thing I need to know from you is - because I'm looking at your eyes to see if you got any rest after that performance Tuesday night at the BET Awards. LEVERT: Yeah, being with him was like an adventure.ĬOX: Let's talk about you, the book. And those moments were - I'm searching for the rights words - that was like an adventure. And I could do that in front of thousands of people and then we would laugh about it and he would get all shy and bashful. And in front of thousands of people, I got a chance to - I could kiss him, rub his head and that hug, that father and son hug, that my child hug, my baby hug. Some of the freest moments, some of the undescribable moments, the - this is my kid and we're up here and we are singing. EDDIE LEVERT (Lead Vocalist, The O'Jays Author, "I Got Your Back: A Father and Son Keep it Real About Love, Fatherhood, Family, and Friendship"): Some of my greatest moment, some of my most creative moments, some of my most joyous moments were with him on stage. Despite a deep sense of loss, he says he happily remembers the good times. Now, Eddie Levert is out promoting the book without Gerald. It's a book about love, fatherhood, family and friendship. His death coming one day after he and his father completed their final collaboration. Following in his father's footsteps, Gerald Levert exemplified a new generation of R&B classiness.īut Gerald died suddenly in November of 2006. But The O'Jays are not the creation he's most proud of. Eddie Levert founded one of the greatest singing groups in R&B history.
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