FRANKIE BEVERLY (1946 - 2024)

Frankie Beverly, the smooth lead vocalist and songwriter who found fame with his r&b band, Maze, passed away on September 10th. The charismatic Philly native, with no cause of death revealed to date, was seventy-seven years old. Earlier this year, Beverly had stated he was planning to retire from music and had just concluded his last tour with Maze in July which they performed a final concert in his hometown of Philadelphia.

Born Howard Beverly, his passion for music was first sparked in the church as a young boy singing in the choir. As a teenager, he joined several groups where they performed doo-wop and soul music. He changed his professional name to "Frankie Beverly" in honor of early doo-wop vocalist, Frankie Lymon. The Butlers, a group Beverly was a member, recorded "If That's What You Wanted" in 1967 which caught the attention of local Philly producer Kenny Gamble. He recorded new material with the group and they toured extensively before deciding to relocate to San Francisco. The Butlers became "Raw Soul" and signed to a local label. Although they didn't achieve much commercial success, Raw Soul did get noticed by Marvin Gaye who hired them to be his opening act on tour in 1976. And it was Gaye who suggested they change their band's name to "Maze"

After signing with Capitol Records, they released their debut album, "Maze featuring Frankie Beverly" in 1977. This record would help the band begin to have a very loyal fan base and earn them their first gold record. Maze and Beverly would record six more successful albums on the label with the songs, "Workin' Together", "Southern Girl", "Feel That You're Feelin'", "Running Away" and "Love Is the Key" reaching the top ten on the US r&b singles chart. "Back in Stride", from their 1985 album, "Can't Stop the Love". would become Maze featuring Frankie Beverly's first number one song on the r&b chart. They went on to sign with Warner Bros. Records in 1989 where Maze released their final two albums together which included their other chart-topping single, "Can't Get Over You".