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Mr. G
Soulful Son

By Mario Tarradell / The Dallas Morning News

Gerald Levert has vivid memories of growing up the son of legendary soulman Eddie Levert, lead singer of the O'Jays.

And since boys will be boys, Mr. Levert and his baby brother Sean spent many days watching - and copying - the moves their old man made.

"Every day we woke up thinking we were the O'Jays," he says with a laugh. "He was Walter [Williams] and I was Eddie. That was how we lived. We were around it, we were influenced by it. My father always kept all his competitors' 8-tracks in the Cadillac we had. The Spinners, Heatwave, Ohio Players - all the groups that were influential at the time."

Young Gerald was inspired by them all. At 33, he has enjoyed a varied, substantial career built on respect for R&B traditions and a keen ear for incorporating the best of the new soul sounds. As part of pioneering "new jack swing" trio Levert, he recorded five successful albums from 1986 to 1993, including 1987's The Big Throwdown, which featured the crossover hit "Casanova."

Then, spurred by the gold-selling popularity of 1991's Private Line, his first solo project, Mr. Levert took off on his own. Three CDs later, G arrived. Released in February, G finds the soulful baritone in old-school mode. The album incorporates the vibe, melodies and grooves of yesteryear with dashes of contemporary production values. Songs such as "Callin' Me," "Application (I'm Lookin' 4 a New Love)" and "She Done Been" merge the modern sheen with Mr. Levert's incendiary call-and-response vocalizations.

But, truth be told, he'd rather go all the way retro.

"If it were up to me, I would do the live band, strings, old-school Barry White thing" on CD, he says. "You got people, the powers that be, that play games with you. 'You were winning with that sound, and you need to incorporate this sound.' You get so complacent that you get nervous about trying anything. They tell you, 'We can't play this on the radio.' This is my job, this is how I feed my family. So I have to be careful."

Still, you can't keep a prodigal son down. "Baby U Are," G's second single, is basically an homage to Curtis Mayfield, Al Green and Prince. A cool strings-and-flute section merges with a slinky rhythm to create a sexy, sensual musical mood.

Oh, and over it all lies Mr. Levert's falsetto. You read that right: The rich, robust, R&B vocalist is showcasing his upper register.

"It's the only time I've done the falsetto," he says. "I used to do it when I used to do demos for female singers like Patti LaBelle or Stephanie Mills. Instead of getting a girl to sing it, I would do it in my falsetto. I always played it for my dad. Everything I do, I play it for my dad. He said I should do records in the falsetto. He said it would separate me from everybody else out there today."

Yet, he admits, too much of a good thing is just too much.

"Singing it live is so hard to consistently do it," he says, sighing. "I do the song, but sometimes I can't do all the falsetto stuff. So I'm aware of the fact that I can't sing falsetto all the time."

He's going to give it a try, though. Mr. Levert, like his dad, believes in the power of showmanship. That's why he spent his formative years, during Levert's late '80s dominance, touring with greats such as the Whispers, the Spinners, Gladys Knight & the Pips and of course, the O'Jays. When Mr. Levert performs Saturday night at the Smirnoff Music Centre (formerly Starplex), as part of the Honey Nut Cheerios Soulfest, he'll be co-headlining with veteran soulsters Frankie Beverly & Maze.

"We weren't the greatest in the beginning, but we got better and we were learning," he says of those early days in Levert. "I would sit in the wings and try to figure out what is the key to giving a great show every night. Watching those groups was the key to being perfect on stage. I went out there and I worked real hard and I concentrated on trying to be good every time. It's paid off. This is my 15th year in the business, and you don't get a lot of artists that last that long."

So might there be a Levert reunion? He all but nixes the idea - at least with the trio's original personnel, which included the two brothers and cousin Marc Gordon.

"If it ever is again, it'll be me, my dad and Sean," he says. "It'll be just the family. And that's that. We know when we get on stage it's like this: Dad is the leader, he's the man, I'm second in command, and Sean is third. We understand our place. When you get other people involved, there's jealousy. That's when all the animosity and all the fights start. It's all about egos. I don't want to deal with that anymore."

Especially since he has carved out a continuously expanding niche. Between solo efforts, he recorded 1995's Father and Son, a duet album with Eddie Levert, and 1997's LSG, a collaboration with singers Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill. He's ventured into production, not only for his own albums but also for up-and-coming acts Say Yes and Blu. He also co-produced two cuts on the new Temptations CD, Ear-Resistible.

Mr. Levert's touring schedule is also picking up. He'll be on the Soulfest tour for seven weeks, then he may do a few solo headlining dates. Plus, a fall trek with soul singer Kelly Price is in the planning stages.

It's all about building longevity, he says.

"I'm very happy," he says about his career. "I look at Frankie Beverly, who never sold a million records. I look at Patti LaBelle. We do the same thing as people who sold 4 million at one time. We just have to work hard, and every time we come out we have to be great. That's a great challenge. If I come out there after you, I have to be better. That's how I look at it."