I Got Your Back: A Father and Son Keep It Real About Love, Fatherhood, Family, and Friendship

In the pantheon of show business relationships, the story of Eddie and Gerald Levert is literally one for the books. Eddie, the well-known voice of the O'Jays, paved the way for his son, Gerald, to trademark his own brand of soul in the 1980s. I GOT YOUR BACK: A FATHER AND SON KEEP IT REAL ABOUT LOVE, FATHERHOOD, FAMILY, AND FRIENDSHIP (Harlem Moon, $18.95) by Eddie Levert & Gerald Levert, written with Lyah Beth LeFlore, chronicles how both men became musical icons in their own right. They share intimate details of their friendship, a relationship for which most fathers and sons long.

"Some of the greatest times of my life were when I was performing on stage with Gerald," Eddie writes. "Gerald and I didn't have to rehearse. It was what I like to call 'all natural!' We'd tied off [each other]. He'd goad me on, saying 'Where's that Eddie Levert that I keep hearing is the man? I need to see him!' Or he'd say, 'Dad, you're throwing me the ball, but it's coming real slow.' That would really get me pumped up, and I'd say, 'Boy, you'd better back up and leave me alone.' Audiences would go crazy."

Sadly Gerald, whose seductive voice helped reveal a lot of Victoria's Secret, died of a heart attack in November 2006. The Ohio native was in the midst of recording his second father-and-son album, and writing I GOT YOUR BACK, says Eddie Levert. He spoke to EBONY in a wide-ranging interview about the book, Father's Day, and life in general.

EBONY: It must be bittersweet to have your book released around Father's Day.

EL: It's a bittersweet dream because Gerald's not here. The book was a labor of love. We got a chance to talk about our family life. We got a chance to talk about religion, politics and things we believe in, such as why it's important for Black men to be shown in a much more positive light. The struggle hasn't stopped for us as Black men. It's still a struggle. We still have to work toward perfecting our relationships with our children, our relationships with our women and our relationships with God.

EBONY: What was it like to perform with your son?

EL: It was awesome. It's indescribable. Now, it's very disheartening for me to work without him because he's not here for me to feed off. That's what we did. We fed off each other. We talked about everything that we were going to do and what we were trying to do. But you know, when God steps in, you can't change it.

EBONY: When you were starting out as an O'Jay, did you ever foresee that you would perform and record with your son?

EL: It was always in the back of my mind and in the back of his mind. We used to have our little jam sessions when I was at home, and Gerald and I would play and sing together when he was maybe 9, 10 or 11 years old. He was always a writer and performer. I remember there were times when he used to pull together neighborhood shows in the backyard and perform on stages that we'd build for him and his friends. He would charge the neighborhood kids 5 cents to come and see them, and then sell popcorn [he laughs upon reflection]. But Gerald always had a show-business mind.

EBONY: Are there unreleased recordings that you and Gerald did together?

EL: I'm in the process of putting together another father-and-son album. We had started working on it before Gerald passed away, and it was just a matter of putting my voice on a couple of things. He had put his voice on a lot of things, and I just had to find the time to do my part. Now, I'm going to do my part.

EBONY: Can you think of other artists like you and your son who had the opportunity to work together?

EL: I can only think of Julio Iglesias and his son. What my son and I had was very unique for the time we came along to do this. You never miss your water until your well runs dry.

EBONY: What is your advice to fathers?

EL: We have to be a little more spiritual. We must love God and then love ourselves. Once we learn to love ourselves, everything else will fall into place.

COPYRIGHT 2007 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning