People still react to these songs like they did when they first came out. “I had to stop getting down on the floor like I used to, man,” Levert says, laughing. On the microphone, he vacillates from righteous gospel messenger to slick-talking lover man. The front of his shirt is usually soaked by the end of the show. These days, whether with the O’Jays or as a solo act, Levert still works the stage as though it’s 1973. Levert’s son Gerald, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter who died in 2006, also was steeped in his father’s style. Levert’s robust approach – mixing opera’s earnest sense of drama with the fiery intensity of gospel and the blues – influenced underrated soul veteran Millie Jackson and funk legend Rick James (“Yeah, he stole my style,” Levert says). I want the people to feel the note as pure as possible.” “So I watched a lot of opera singers like Marian Anderson and different opera singers and how they were able to hold the note and keep the note to the point that you can feel it inside of you, to the point you wanted to cry. “Everybody who sang in church did a lot of runs and riffs, and I wanted to be different,” Levert says. Growing up in the black church of 1950s Canton, Ohio, Levert was used to powerful, emotive singing. Levert came up in an era packed with dynamic male performers, including Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye, who forever changed pop vocalization. I couldn’t sing those songs if I didn’t feel them.” People need to know about ‘back stabbers,’ they need to know about a ‘love train’ and that money is the root of all evil. “We were all together in that, the O’Jays and Gamble and Huff. “The amazing part of it is that we put these songs out in the ’70s and here we are in 2016 and those messages in the music are so prevalent,” Levert says. With the alternating lead vocals of Levert’s grittiness and Walter Williams’ silkiness, the O’Jays were the deacons in the church of Gamble and Huff. The deceptively simple orchestrations glided across and soared above aggressive rhythms, a debonair take on ’70s funk. Beyond the topical lyrics, there were the alluring arrangements: strutting horns and lush strings that gave each PIR release an almost cinematic flair. On the back of Philly International albums, Gamble often penned a mission statement about the need for the music to say something meaningful to the people consuming it. The songs reflect the mission of Gamble and Huff. We are delivering messages so that people can live in an honorable fashion.”ĭespite the occasional patriarchal and overly sentimental tone (“Family Reunion” from 1975 is a prime example), the O’Jays’ catalog teems with vivid songs of spiritual transcendence, romantic longing and political awareness. But our music is designed for our people if others are able to digest the songs, so much the better. Yeah, we draw a lot of white people and we’re very appreciative of that. “You have to have a hit show, so that you can always be able to work. “You can have a hit record, but there’s life after a hit record,” says Levert, calling from a tour stop in Chicago. When the pop hits dried up at the dawn of the ’80s, the O’Jays retained their black audience and continued to score big hits on Billboard’s R&B chart, topping the list in 1989 with “Have You Had Your Love Today,” an early integration of soul and hip-hop. Other hits soon followed, including “Love Train,” an across-the-board chart topper in ’73, “For the Love of Money,” “I Love Music,” “Used to Be My Girl” and others. Starting in 1972 with the dramatic gold-seller “Back Stabbers,” the O’Jays were a consistent presence in the pop and R&B Top 10 throughout the decade. Its legacy rests on a string of classic singles and albums released in the 1970s and early ’80s on Philadelphia International Records, the label overseen by the production duo of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Each member over the years has done solo appearances and recordings, but the group, which started in 1958, remains the anchor. The Ohio-raised performer is also promoting a solo album, “Did I Make You Go Ooh,” a mix of romantic ballads and bluesy urban tunes akin to what he’s always done with the O’Jays. E-Pilot Evening Edition Home Page Close Menu
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