The O’Jays
The O’Jays have had a whole bunch of heartache that would have knocked plenty of groups out of the game. They were first hit hard on May 26, 1977 when their original member, William Powell (pictured in the above photo on the bottom left), lost his battle to cancer at the age of 35.

O’Jays member, Eddie Levert, endured what no parent should have to, when he lost his two sons, singers Gerald Levert on November 10, 2006 and then Sean Levert only 1 year and 4 months later on March 30, 2008.
Gerald Levert
On November 10, 2006, Gerald Levert was found dead in his bed at his Cleveland, Ohio home when his cousin tried to wake him. Initial reports stated that Levert had died of an apparent heart attack, but in February 2007, an autopsy report conducted by the Cuyahoga County coroner’s office concluded that Levert’s death was caused by a fatal combination of prescription and over-the-counter pain relievers.

Sean Levert
In 2008, Sean was sentenced to 22 months in prison for not paying child support for three of his children, who were aged 11, 15, and 17 at the time. While incarcerated in the Cuyahoga County Correctional Facility, he fell really ill prior to his transfer to a state prison. It was reported that he was experiencing complications from high blood pressure and having hallucinations; he died six days after being admitted to the jail, on March 30. The Cuyahoga County coroner ruled in May that his death was caused by complications from sarcoidosis, but the official coroner’s report also stated that he had issues of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and withdrawals from Xanax. In 2010, his widow won a $ 4 million lawsuit against Cuyahoga County. Levert left behind a wife, Angela Lowe, and six children.