Remembering Frankie Beverly
Frankie Beverly, the main singer and songwriter of the soul and funk band Maze, died on Tuesday. His compositions, such as "Golden Time of Day," "Joy and Pain," and "Happy Feelin's," have provided the soundtrack to countless summer cookouts and family reunions for more than five decades. He was 77.
His relatives reported his death on Instagram. The statement did not specify his location or cause of death.
"He lived his life with pure soul, as one would say, and for us, no one did it better," the press release read. "He lived for his music, family and friends."
Mr. Beverly announced a farewell tour this year with a few dates. He had stated that he will retire after his final road trip.
"Thank you so much for the support given to me for over 50 years as I pass on the lead vocalist torch to Tony Lindsay," Mr. Beverly told Billboard at the time. "The band will continue as Maze Honoring Frankie Beverly." It's been a fantastic ride throughout the decades. Let the music of my legacy endure."
Mr. Beverly's rich baritone propelled Maze to success on the R&B charts and Black radio. However, the band did not achieve significant crossover pop success.
"Frankie Beverly may be the biggest R&B star you never heard of," observed J.D. Considine, music writer for the Baltimore Sun, in 1994.
That didn't appear to upset him much.
"Yeah, I wish more people knew who I was," he said Mr. Considine, "but if it means giving up this thing we have, I'll simply have to wait till they find out.'Because whatever we have, whatever this thing is to which we appear to belong, is a cult."
Maze placed 29 songs on Billboard’s R&B singles chart (now called Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs), including nine in the Top 10, and 14 albums on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, two of which reached No. 1. Four of its singles and 10 of its albums also made the Billboard pop charts.
It would be difficult to count the number of artists who have cited Mr. Beverly’s music as inspiration or sampled from his ever-expanding playbook of infectious melodies and harmonies. Many have covered his work, some with more fanfare than others. His 1978 song “I Need You” was sampled in “Hustler’s Ambition” by 50 Cent, “Talk to Em” by Young Jeezy and “I Need U” by Lil Boosie and Webbie.
And Mr. Beverly’s song “Before I Let Go,” though not a big hit, was covered by Beyoncé on her live album “Homecoming” in 2019. In the New York Times podcast “Still Processing,” with Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham, the song was described in 2021 as having “a unique ability to gather and galvanize,” becoming “a unifying Black anthem and an unfailing source of joy.”Maze, led by Frankie Beverly, significantly impacted the music industry with their chart-topping achievements. They placed 29 songs on Billboard's R&B singles chart, now known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, including nine in the Top 10. Their 14 albums on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart featured two that reached the coveted No. 1 position. Additionally, four of their singles and 10 albums made it onto the Billboard pop charts.
Frankie Beverly's music transcends generations, inspiring countless artists. His melodies and harmonies have left an indelible mark on the industry, with many covering his songs. His 1978 song, "I Need You," was notably sampled in popular tracks such as "Hustler's Ambition" by 50 Cent, "Talk to Em" by Young Jeezy, and "I Need U" by Lil Boosie and Webbie.
Among Frankie Beverly's songs, "Before I Let Go," though initially not a major hit, gained significant recognition when Beyoncé covered it on her live album "Homecoming" in 2019. In 2021, the New York Times podcast "Still Processing" highlighted the song's unique ability to gather and galvanize, describing it as "a unifying Black anthem and an unfailing source of joy."
Howard Stanley Beverly was born December 6, 1946, in Philadelphia. His father was a truck driver, while his mother managed the household.
As a child, he was influenced by music he heard in church, R&B performers such as Sam Cooke and Lloyd Price, and the doo-wop group Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers.
"I was so blown away by Frankie that I changed my own name — my birth name is Howard!" he stated in an online biography. "But after I heard Frankie and the guys, I was totally bitten."
He claims that as a 12-year-old, he toured the East Coast for a year with the Silhouettes (who had a No. 1 hit with "Get a Job" in 1958) after they discovered he could sing like Mr. Lymon. He later founded his own doo-wop groups and recorded for one of the early record labels owned by songwriter and producer Kenneth Gamble, who, along with his colleague Leon Huff, helped pioneer the Philly Soul sound.
Mr. Beverly converted his group Butlers from a traditional vocal harmony ensemble to Raw Soul, influenced by Sly and the Family Stone's daring blend of soul, rock, and funk.
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He and the other Raw Soul members relocated to San Francisco in 1972, although they first struggled to achieve popularity.
"We were going through hell," Mr. Beverly told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1978. "San Francisco was not Disneyland. It was real, with genuine wounds and heartaches. We had no bread and were out on the street."
They did get scheduled at a few tiny clubs; at one of them, Marvin Gaye's sister-in-law witnessed them perform and told Mr. Gaye about their skill. He encouraged them to alter their name, brought them on tour as an opening act in 1976, and helped them sign with Capitol Records.
"He loved me like a little brother," Mr. Beverly said of Mr. Gaye in the online biography. "And working with him certainly helped bring our demos back to life."
The renamed band's debut album, "Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly," was released in 1977. It was the first of the group's nine gold albums, which included the two-disc "Anthology" (1996).
Information about surviving was not immediately available.
In 2009, Maze closed the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans for the 15th year in a row. According to Ben Ratliff of The Times, the band's shows are rehearsed rituals that lead to a rare and special audience feeling: deep, sentient serenity, rather than the typical lose-yourself pop catharsis. It's done through repeated funk in moderate to medium tempos, with minimal instrumentation flexing; moderation is everywhere."
As for Mr. Beverly, he added: "His voice was half-scorched, and some of the customary signs of Donny Hathaway and Sam Cooke were missing. However, he succeeded by maintaining it in the middle register and incorporating little vocal gestures into the rhythm cycles, such as percussive uh-uhs and dibba-dibbas, or gospel grunts.
“His lyrics are about joy and desire, but he works realism, as well as a horror of hurting anyone, into his euphoria.”