Gerald Levert

A contemporary soul singer whose smooth, yet robust vocals bring energy and emotion to even his most
serene recordings, Gerald LeVert grew up in the shadows of his father, Eddie LeVert Sr. of the O'Jays. As
a child, his father's status in the music industry nurtured and helped prepare Gerald for his prosperous
music career as a writer, arranger, producer and performer. As Gerald was entering his adulthood, he, good
friend Marc Gordon and his brother Sean formed the trio LeVert. They recorded their first single, entitled
"I'm Still," on the independent Tempre label. Even though Gerald was still maturing as a vocalist, his
powerful, stirring delivery on the single is worthy of praise. Peaking on the Billboard R&B charts at number
70, it survived for eight weeks.
Nonetheless, that single set up a deal with Atlantic Records the following year, and it could not have
been a better move. Initially, Gerald recorded with the group, scoring five number one singles,
seven Top Ten singles and four Top 20 singles on the Billboard R&B charts, including the Reggie
and Vincent Calloway-written and produced number one single "Casanova," which also peaked at
number four on the Billboard pop charts. He also managed to make room for a duet with labelmate
Miki Howard, recording the number four single "That's What Love Is."
In 1991, Gerald released his solo debut album, entitled Private Line. The title track spawned his
first number one single as a solo artist on the Billboard R&B charts. The following year, Gerald
came back with a duet with his father and scored another number one single with "Baby Hold on to
Me" and the number three single "School Me," reminiscent of Babyface's "Whip Appeal."
However, in the midst of all his success, Gerald's only major pop appeal remained the "Casanova"
single.
Pop producer David Foster presented a pop tune to Gerald, and "I Swear" became a number one
and Top 20 hit on the pop and R&B charts, respectively. Subsequently, Gerald returned to Foster's
stable to record "I'd Give Anything," also produced by Foster. Formerly a number four country hit
for Boy Howdy under the title "She'd Give Anything," Gerald's version managed a pop Top 30 hit.
Intended for crossover appeal, the single was actually a bigger hit on the R&B charts, peaking at
number four and reinforcing Gerald's major following among R&B music lovers.
In addition to his impressive string of hits, the Cleveland, Ohio native has rendered his services as
songwriter, vocalist and producer to many artists, such as the O'Jays, Barry White, Stephanie Mills,
Troop, Teddy Pendergrass, the Winans, Patti Labelle, Rude Boys, and on and on. In 1997, Gerald
added another dimension to his prosperous career; he joined forces with R&B vocalists Keith
Sweat and Johnny Gill under the acronym LSG, spawning the hit single "My Body." As a solo act,
he released Love & Consequences the year following, returning in 1999 with G. Gerald is a very
productive singer releasing Gerald's World in 2001 followed by G Spot in 2002.