Editing LeVert

{{Short description|American R&B vocal group}}
{{Other uses|Levert (disambiguation)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name = LeVert
|background = group_or_band
|image = 
|alias = 
|origin = [[Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S.
|genre = {{hlist|[[Contemporary R&B|R&B]]|[[new jack swing]]|[[Soul music|soul]]}}
|years_active = 1983–1997
|label = {{hlist|[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]|[[Rhino Records|Rhino]]}} 
|associated_acts = {{hlist|[[The O'Jays]]|[[The Rude Boys]]|[[Men At Large]]|[[Heavy D]]|[[Calloway (band)|Calloway]]|[[1 of the Girls (group)|1 of the Girls]]}}
|past_members = {{plainlist|
* Marc Gordon
* [[Gerald Levert]] (deceased)
* [[Sean Levert]] (deceased)
}}
}}

'''LeVert''' was an American [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] vocal group from [[Cleveland, Ohio]], United States.<ref name="Larkin80">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2003|edition=Third|isbn=1-85227-969-9|page=307}}</ref> Formed in 1983, LeVert was composed of [[Sean Levert|Sean]] and [[Gerald Levert]] (sons of [[Eddie Levert]], founder and lead singer of [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]/[[Soul music|Soul]] vocal group [[O'Jays]]) and Marc Gordon.<ref name="Wells">Wells, Chris (1986) "It's in the Blood", ''Echoes'', 8 November 1986, p. 5</ref><ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web|last1=Prato|first1=Greg|title=Artist Biography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/levert-mn0000787940/biography|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=12 November 2020}}</ref>

==Biography==
The group released their first single, "[[I'm Still]]", for Harry Coombes's Tempre label.<ref name="Wells" /> In 1985, they released their debut album, ''[[I Get Hot]]'', which included tracks whose vocals drew strong comparisons to Sean and Gerald Levert's father Eddie.<ref name="Larkin80"/> ''[[Bloodline (LeVert album)|Bloodline]]'' followed in 1986, and this album included the band's first big [[R&B chart|R&B]] hit "[[(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind]]".<ref name="Larkin80"/> However, the band's next album, 1987's ''[[The Big Throwdown]]'' became an even bigger success, on the strength of the Number One R&B hit "[[Casanova (LeVert song)|Casanova]]", which gave them a crossover hit on the [[Billboard Hot 100|pop chart]] (number 5) and also a UK Top 10.<ref name="UK">{{cite web|title=LEVERT - full Official Chart History |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/24436/levert/|website=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=12 November 2020}}</ref>

A pair of additional [[R&B chart|R&B]] Top Five singles were also released from this album: "My Forever Love" and "Sweet Sensation". The band's success continued with their 1988 follow-up album ''[[Just Coolin' (album)|Just Coolin']]'', which was nominated for Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Album for the [[1989 Soul Train Music Awards]]. Both ''The Big Throwdown'' and ''Just Coolin''' received [[RIAA certification|gold certification]].<ref name="Larkin80"/> Beginning in the 1990s, Gerald began dividing his time between LeVert, and his solo career,<ref name="Larkin80"/> but the band went on to release three more albums, and [[Rhino Records]] released a greatest hits album in 2001.

Gerald Levert died of a prescription and over the counter drug overdose in November 2006.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/10/obit.levert/index.html|title=R&B singer Gerald Levert dead at 40|website=Cnn.com|access-date=May 7, 2010}}</ref> Sean Levert died in March 2008 from a combination of sarcoidosis and xanax withdrawal while in the Cuyahoga County jail.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/local/17170786.html|title=R&B; Singer Sean Levert Dies While Serving Time In Prison|work=NBC Augusta|access-date=2008-06-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515234925/http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/local/17170786.html|archive-date=2008-05-15|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1046019/sean-levert-dies-after-jail-emergency|title=Sean Levert Dies After Jail Emergency|website=Billboard.com|date=March 31, 2008|access-date=November 6, 2019}}</ref>

==Discography==
{{main|LeVert discography}}
;Studio albums
* ''[[I Get Hot]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Bloodline (LeVert album)|Bloodline]]'' (1986)
* ''[[The Big Throwdown]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Just Coolin' (album)|Just Coolin']]'' (1988)
* ''[[Rope a Dope Style]]'' (1990) 
* ''[[For Real Tho']]'' (1993)
* ''[[The Whole Scenario]]'' (1997)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4748}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605115331/http://www.soulinterviews.com/interviews-archive/632-levert-ii-swe.html LeVert II 2011 Audio Interview at Soulinterviews.com]

{{Levert}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Duo or Group}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American contemporary R&B musical groups]]
[[Category:New jack swing music groups]]
[[Category:African-American musical trios]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records artists]]
[[Category:Rhino Entertainment artists]]
[[Category:1983 establishments in Ohio]]