Silky Gerald Levert deserved a longer run

16th Nov 2006, 17:10 GMT

Iheard laughter first - the joyous, familiar, head-thrown-back kind. It sounded like a party in the background, but Gerald Levert was calling me from a rehearsal in his hometown of Cleveland. It was about this time last year, early November. The soul star was prepping for a national tour with his father, the great Eddie Levert of the O'Jays.