Sean Levert Dies
Sean Levert, the son of O’Jays lead singer Eddie Levert, had died at the age of 39. He fell ill while he was in jail, but was taken to the Lutheran Hospital in Cleveland. He died an hour after reaching the hospital. Authorities are not sure what killed him, but say foul play is not suspected.
Levert was the lead singer of the 80s R&B trio LeVert that consisted of him, his brother Gerald, and friend Marc Gordon. The group had a string of hits including “Baby I’m Ready,” “(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind,” and “Casanova,” with the last song being nominated for a Grammy in 1988. Gerald went on to solo success after the trio broke up, but died in 2006 of an accidental mix of prescription and over the counter drugs. A warden of the prison said Levert had been sick and acting strangely earlier while a spokesman for the coroner’s office said he had high blood pressure and had been hallucinating while in jail.
Levert had been sentenced to jail just last week for failure to pay child support. He was to serve one year and 10 months in jail for being $89,025 behind on support. When he was sentenced, he gave no indication of health problems, but a report said he had been addicted to marijuana since the age of 14.
Stone Temple Pilots Reuniting
Grunge band Stone Temple Pilots are reuniting for a summer tour. The band will play more than 50 amphitheaters beginning with the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio on May 17-18. This will be their first show since 2002. Since then, lead singer Scott Weiland has gone on to co-found Velvet Revolver (and been in a revolving door of rehab).
Velvet Revolver, which also includes Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum of Guns N’ Roses and Dave Kushner of Wasted Youth, just finished a European tour, but the future of the band is in doubt as Weiland and drummer Sorum have been engaging in a public feud.