As their founder, songwriter, producer, and lead singer, Frankie Beverly is inextricably linked with Maze, one of the key R&B acts of the '70s and '80s, and a beloved performing group that continued to thrive well into the next century. Starting with their 1977 debut, Beverly and Maze honed a relaxed, rich, and joyous sound that promoted positivity and remained unique throughout their existence. While firmly rooted in Philadelphia -- if based in San Francisco -- Maze were distinct from the Philly soul groups, comparatively pared down if just as musical, and while much of what they made was suited for dancing, they were never disco. They also didn't appeal to the mainstream, yet all eight of their studio albums were Top Ten hits on the R&B chart, and seven of them went gold, promoted with evergreen Black radio staples such as "Workin' Together" (1978), "Southern Girl" (1980), "Joy and Pain" (1980), and "Before I Let Go" (1981), as well as "Back in Stride" (1985) and "Can't Get Over You" (1989), both of which were chart-toppers. Rather remarkably, Beverly kept the group's bright sound contemporary -- without following trends -- throughout two decades of recording. A major live draw, as demonstrated by the early-'80s set Live in New Orleans (another gold seller), Beverly and Maze remained active with touring until a handful of farewell dates in 2024. Beverly died that year, though not before he received the NAACP Image Awards' Lifetime Achievement Award, and had the East Germantown street on which he grew up named in his honor. Frankie Beverly was born Howard Stanley Beverly in Philadelphia on December 6, 1946. He started calling himself Frankie after hearing Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers when he was only nine years old. Before that, Beverly had been singing gospel in the Baptist church where his father served as deacon, and it was Lymon, a major doo wop singer, who made him realize that he wanted to perform secular music. That isn't to say that Beverly's appreciation of gospel ever went away; that influence remained throughout his life, but secular R&B would be his main focus. When Beverly was 12, he joined the Philly doo wop group the Silhouettes (who were known for their hit "Get a Job") and went on tour with them in 1959. Then, in the early '60s, he founded and led a short-lived doo wop/soul vocal group called the Blenders. After the Blenders broke up, a 17-year-old Beverly founded another vocal group, the Butlers. They weren't well-known Stateside, but some of the Butlers' driving, uptempo singles -- released from 1963 through 1969 on small Philly labels like Fairmount, Liberty Bell, Guyden, and Gamble -- were embraced by England's Northern soul scene. It was in 1970 that Beverly founded the band that eventually came to be known as Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly. Originally, Maze went by Raw Soul, alternately known as the Raw Soul with Frankie Beverly and Frankie Beverly's Raw Soul. They debuted on Eldorado in 1970 with "You Left Me," which Beverly co-wrote and co-produced with jazz organist Charles Earland. After that, they released three singles for the likewise local Gregar label, including "Color Blind," during 1971 and 1972. Raw Soul's sound owed as much to Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers as it did to any of the soulsters who came out of Philly in the '60s or '70s. Although he came from Philly and had recorded for Kenny Gamble's eponymous precursor to Philadelphia International Records, Beverly didn't think of himself or his group as part of the Philly sound, as they didn't fit into either the Gamble & Huff school of Philly soul or the Thom Bell/Linda Creed school (of which the Delfonics, the Moments, and the Stylistics were part). Out of place in his home town, Beverly moved Raw Soul to the San Francisco Bay Area. They had been playing the San Francisco/Oakland scene for several years when Beverly's idol, Marvin Gaye, became aware of the band. Quite impressed by Beverly's singing and songwriting, Gaye sang Raw Soul's praises to Capitol and helped them land a deal with that major label in 1976. One thing Gaye didn't like about Beverly's band was the name. The soul giant insisted on a name change, and after considering a few other names, including Karma and Charisma, Raw Soul officially became Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly in 1976. With a lineup consisting of Beverly on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Wayne Thomas on lead guitar, Sam Porter on keyboards, Ronald "Roame" Lowry and McKinley "Bug" Williams on percussion and background vocals, and Joe Provost on drums, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly made their self-titled debut in 1977. Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly included "While I'm Alone" and "Lady of Magic," singles that peaked respectively at numbers 21 and 13 on the R&B chart, and also contained "Happy Feelin's," which wasn't issued as a single but became much more of a fan favorite. "While I'm Alone" also crossed into the Hot 100, and the album went gold that August. In 1978, Provost was replaced by Ahaguna G. Sun, formerly of Sunbear. There would be other personnel changes along the way -- such as the additions of keyboardist Phillip Woo, formerly of Roy Ayers Ubiquity, and guitarist Ron Smith -- but regardless of who was coming or going, Maze always reflected Beverly's vision. Maze had earned a devoted following with their first album, and they continued to have Top Ten R&B, gold-selling success with their next three studio LPs, issued each year through 1980. Golden Time of Day, Inspiration, and Joy and Pain also put the group repeatedly in the Billboard 200, peaking as high as number 27 and no lower than number 33. The albums yielded seven charting singles highlighted by the Top Ten R&B hits "Workin' Together," "Feel That You're Feelin'," and "Southern Girl." Moreover, there was "Joy & Pain" itself, which did not chart but became one of their signature songs, like "Southern Girl," a Black radio favorite for decades to come. Meanwhile, Maze built a reputation for having one of the best live shows, and their first concert recording, Live in New Orleans, arrived in 1981. The fourth side of the two-record set consisted of studio material, none of which could be termed filler. Three of its four songs were released as singles, and they all charted. "Running Away" fared best, peaking at number seven R&B, but "Before I Let Go," a number 13 hit, took on a life of its own as another enduring classic. Deeper into the '80s, Maze released three additional studio albums and another live recording. We Are One, issued in 1983, was the group's only full-length studio effort not to achieve gold sales, but it kept the R&B Top Ten streak alive, aided by the title song, another one of Beverly's collectivist anthems. Two years later, Maze topped the R&B album chart with Can't Stop the Love, the source of the funky "Back in Stride," their first to crown the R&B singles chart. Second single "Too Many Games" reached number five, and its B-side, the almost purely electronic "Twilight" -- essentially an instrumental -- was embraced by club DJs in the States and abroad, particularly in the U.K. Another concert was preserved with Live in Los Angeles, released in 1986. Like Live in New Orleans, it consisted of three live sides with new studio work on side four. "I Wanna Be with You," a logical song-based progression from "Twilight," along with the ballad "When You Love Someone," both charted. In 1989, Maze left Capitol for Warner Bros. and recorded Silky Soul. "Can't Get Over You" reintroduced the group after a lengthy studio hiatus and gave them their second number one R&B hit. The title track, an ode to Marvin Gaye, gave chase and reached number five. By that time, Maze were receiving a lot of attention from the rap world, heard most notably on Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock's "Joy and Pain," the chorus of which echoed Maze's song of the same title. Maze made one more studio album, Back to Basics, released in 1993. The group's swan song produced three more charting singles, namely "Laid Back Girl," "The Morning After," and "What Goes Up," and concluded with an updated, more organic version of "Twilight." Maze appeared on the soundtrack for the 2001 romantic drama The Brothers ("Teach Each Other"), but otherwise ceased writing and recording new material. Tireless performers, they billed a 2024 tour as their farewell. Beverly died that September, on the 10th, at the age of 77. ~ Andy Kellman & Alex Henderson, Rovi

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