June is known as Black Music Month, and in celebration, NY1's Dean Meminger continues his Soul's Survivors series. He catches up with the deep voice behind some unforgettable hits.
The sound of the O'Jays has had people grooving around the world for 50 years. Eddie Levert says that's no surprise to him.
Levert: This was my plan. I planned this.
Meminger: You planned to be around for 50, 55, 60 years?
Levert: No, I planned all of this.
The O'Jays first started recording in the late '50s in Ohio. Eddie says he knew he had to come up with a unique style. By the early '70s, the O'Jays were at the top of the music charts, part of the legendary Philadelphia sound.
"I had to find my niche," Eddie says. "Because you had great performers. James Brown, Marvin Gaye, you know what I'm saying, Ronnie Isley."
Although Eddie Levert's singing is soulful, it probably surprises many that he stepped way out of the box to create his trademark sound.
"I loved opera, and so that's where I got my style. That's where I come up with my style," he says. "I was a big fan of Mario Lanza, the opera singer. Because I felt like the guys when they sang opera, they could do a note and touch your whole heart, rip your heart out."
Eddie stayed in the spotlight in the '80s and '90s. A big part of that was because his son, Gerald Levert, had chart-topping hits during that time. Unfortunately, Gerald died in 2006. His father remembers the good times.
"When me and him started performing together, the young kids said, 'Oh, that's your dad. OK, we've heard of him. Oh, we like him too,'" Eddie says.
"Back Stabbers" is his favorite O'Jays number. Eddie says the song simply was perfectly executed vocally and musically. Not to mention that it was the O'Jays' first big hit.
Now, at 73 years old, he's still giving fans all he has.
"Always trying to do the best that I can. Always trying to be as good as I possibly can. Never shamming, even when I don't have the voice," he says.
But his voice is one that won't be forgotten by those who love his music.