Frankie Beverly (born Howard Beverly, December 6, 1946) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and producer, known primarily for his recordings with the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and funk band Maze. Beverly formed Maze, originally called Raw Soul, in his hometown of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1970. After a relocation to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and an introduction to Marvin Gaye, Maze went on to release nine

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

albums and create a large and devoted following. Beverly is the band's writer, producer and lead singer. He is known for his distinctive smooth baritone voice and charismatic stage presence.

Early life and career

Beverly was born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States, and started out singing gospel music as a schoolboy in a local church. He was raised in the East Germantown section of the city and was a graduate of the now defunct Germantown High School. As a teenager he formed The Blenders, a short-lived a cappella, doo-wop group that were influenced by

The Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

The Moonglows The Moonglows were an American R&B group in the 1950s. Their song " Sincerely" went to number 1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Juke Box chart. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. ...

, and

The Del Vikings The Del-Vikings (also known as The Dell-Vikings) were an American doo-wop musical group that recorded several hit singles in the 1950s and continued to record and tour with various lineups in later decades. The group is notable for the hit song ...

. After that outfit dissolved, he founded The Butlers (subsequently Frankie Beverly and the Butlers), which would be the first group he recorded with in 1963. In 1967, he cut "If That's What You Wanted", which became a Northern soul standard. As time passed, they caught the attention of the record producer

Kenny Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

, who eventually released recordings by the group. It turned out that music performed by The Butlers did not fit into the "Philly Sound", and after some heavy touring, the group relocated to California. The unit was re-christened as Raw Soul and caught the attention of a sister-in-law to Marvin Gaye. Gaye featured them as an opening act at his shows, and also convinced Beverly to change the band's name to Maze. The group's popularity was enhanced considerably in the UK by DJs Greg Edwards and

Robbie Vincent Robbie Vincent (born 9 June 1947) is an English radio broadcaster and DJ. As a champion of jazz, funk and soul music in the UK during the late 1970s he made an important contribution both live in clubs and on radio. In 1995 he was voted Independ ...

in the late 1970s and early 1980s when they performed live at London's Lyceum Ballroom for broadcast on

Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. ...

. They are best known there for their UK No. 57 hit single, "Joy and Pain". In 2019, Beverly's hit single with Maze " Before I Let Go" was covered by American singer Beyoncé as a bonus track on her fifth live album Homecoming: The Live Album.

Style

Beverly's onstage attire (all-white custom designed and made, casual clothing, including slacks, long-sleeved shirt, and a baseball cap) has become his signature dress style over the years. It has become tradition for the audience to wear all white to the concerts in honor of the group. His son, Anthony, who has toured as a drummer with Maze, organized a tribute album to his father called 'Silky Soul Music...an All-Star Tribute to Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly' in 2009, founding the record label Brantera, as an homage to the work of Maze.

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

, Kenneth Brian Edmonds (

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

) and

Mint Condition Mint condition is an expression used to denote the quality of a pre-owned good as displaying virtually no imperfections and being in pristine condition relative to its original production state. Originally, the phrase related to the way collect ...

were among the artists taking part on the album.Michael Baisden Show- "B-Side Artist" page
Accessed October 24, 2009.

References

External links

MazeMuze biography
*
NPR audio feature: Frankie Beverly, the Soul of Maze with Ed Gordon

75-minute audio mix of Maze songs with dialogue from Frankie Beverly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beverly, Frankie African-American record producers Record producers from Pennsylvania 20th-century African-American male singers American male singers American rhythm and blues singers American soul musicians Songwriters from Pennsylvania Musicians from Philadelphia 1946 births Living people Northern soul musicians Singers from Pennsylvania American funk musicians African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American people American male songwriters