*As a Cleveland native and soul music fan, I was crushed when we lost our teddy bear, Gerald Levert, and I wanted to spotlight the book he had written with his father, the legendary Eddie Levert Sr., when it was released months later. When I pitched the idea to my editor, she was cool—-to a point. “I don’t know about a book review, but if you can talk to him directly, we’ll take it.”

So, after chasing the man down for days, I was able to get in my chat with him hours before deadline: it was an honor that I treasure to this day and remain proud of: we love the Leverts and miss both Sean and Gerald, so I hope you enjoy the (2007) chat.*

Father’s Day will be a bittersweet event for seasoned soul man Eddie Levert Sr.

The legendary member of the O’Jays is touring the country promoting a newly released book (I Got Your Back: A Father and Son Keep It Real About Love, Fatherhood, Family and Friendship) and CD ( Something to Talk About) this summer, but it’s without his main collaborator, friend and second-born son, Gerald Levert, who passed away from accidental acute intoxication (a lethal mixture of prescription and over-the-counter drugs) last November at age 40.

That unexpected demise rocked fans, peers and family to the core and, understandably, it’s something that Mr. Levert is still learning to wrap his mind around.
“I’m fine until I realize that I won’t be able to talk to him, see him, or hug him ever again,” says the 64-year-old by phone from Las Vegas. “I’m still very much in the trenches with him on a day-to-day basis with the book and the album, the interviews … it feels like he and I are still trying to make it happen. It’s all very surreal, and I’m more numb to the fact than other people.
“At last night’s book signing, for example, his mother [Martha], his sister, his cousin and friends were there. Martha came to me and said, ‘I’m fine until I see a picture of him,’ and that probably sums it up for me as best as I can ever say it.”

Mr. Levert has experienced more of those heartfelt expressions since the February release of Gerald’s solo CD, In My Songs, which according to Nielsen SoundScan has sold 387,000 copies.
It was in between studio sessions for In My Songs that they created Something to Talk About, a project that was a long-overdue follow-up to their first hit album of duets, 1995’s Father and Son. “Whenever he found a break in the time from writing and recording, he was in the studio with me. We were actually doing about three to four albums at the same time: his CD, my CD, our collaboration and so on. We had already recorded the Something CD before he passed away, but I just went back and did my vocals again because the songs took on a more gospel meaning for me.”
Something blends Eddie’s old-school approach and Gerald’s modern musicality, and expectedly, some tracks stand out with heavier emotional resonance to the elder Levert these days. “One of my favorite songs is ‘A Simple Life,’ because it talks about the really important things like air, water, food, the necessities. I also like the song ‘Bad Habit,’ because it reminds us that we all have a tendency to become gluttons for something that we like, and when a man or a woman has become that ‘bad habit,’ you feel like you can’t live without them and don’t want to try. I also like ‘Tapped,’ ” he says with a chuckle, “because Gerald was so sexual on the song that it was funny … he had both of those sides to him.That’s why I enjoy that one so much.”

Fans who’ve always envisioned smooth sailing between the two, given their legendary closeness, will learn from the book that there wasn’t always a harmonious relationship between father and son. Mr. Levert reveals candidly that he discovered many uncomfortable truths about himself, his parenting skills, and Gerald’s private struggles as the two wrote I Got Your Back together.
“I never looked at him as being a replacement for me with my family when I was on the road, but he was the big brother, stand-in father for his siblings, and he was the one that everybody looked up to. These things were very hard for me to read, and now I know in hindsight that I thought that I was being a good father by going out on the road all the time to pay the bills, but there’s got to be that daily interaction. You have to be day-to-day, month-to-month father. He was not the oldest, but in my place, he took on that role as leader. Earning money is important of course, but it’s not the most important thing.

“Overall, it became a great healing process for us; we were able to get out a lot of things that maybe we hadn’t been able to talk to each other about, things we were holding back in reservation because we didn’t want to hurt one another.”
And that same reflective approach is how Mr. Levert continues to handle his career, even after more than 30 years in the music business. The secret to the O’Jays’ ongoing success is that they sustain a delicate balance of pleasing longtime listeners as they court new ones, mindful that the music industry doesn’t exactly revere age.

“They have a tendency in this business to try and trim down your market value as you get older, because they don’t feel like people my age go to the stores as much as younger people. But what they don’t realize is that we’re just really selective and that we do go to the store when there’s something that’s worth our while to go buy,” he says with a laugh.
But what comforts Mr. Levert is that even if the spotlight fades, what he and his late son created together in the studio and with their relationship will always stand the test of time.”We didn’t know the impact we would have on the black community and the world,” he says. “Those are the kinds of things that warm my heart, to know that Gerald affected people like that. He didn’t realize that he became a mainstay and that so many people cherished him. That’s why I feel that our relationship is, and forever will be, something to talk about.”