R&B singer Frankie Beverly has died at the age of 77, according to an announcement from his family on social media pages. “He lived his life with pure soul as one would say, and for us, no one did it better. He lived for his music, family and friends,” the family wrote.
Photo courtesy of Frankie Beverly.
He had an enduring career that stretched over five decades that included much loved hits such as “Joy and Pain” and “Before I Let Go.”
Beverly was born Howard Stanley Beverly on December 6, 1946, but changed his name to Frankie in honor of his idol Frankie Lymon. He credits New Orleans for much of his band’s huge and sustained welcome at Essence Festival. But then the Philadelphia-born, California transplant lauds accolades of New Orleans for many aspects of Maze’s success and longevity. The group, which has enjoyed strings of chart-topping, gold and platinum records and packed houses, has been together since 1975.
As a teenager Beverly formed The Blenders, a short-lived a cappella doo-wop group that were influenced by The Dells, The Moonglows, and The Del Vikings. 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 recorded “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, who eventually released recordings by the group.
The music performed by The Butlers did not fit into the “Philly Sound” and 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.
In 2019, Beverly’s hit single with Maze “Before I Let Go” was covered by singer Beyoncé as a bonus track on her fifth live album Homecoming: The Live Album. Beverly told Billboard that the cover was “one of the high points of his life” and made him “feel bigger than ever! I feel like I have a huge smash out there.”
Frankie Beverly and Maze performed at Essence Festival numerous times over the years. They would close the event, energizing the now-expectant Superdome crowd into a massive line dance that clearly might qualify for a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. Their appearance has become such a tradition that it’s like the proverbial “fat lady”—the festival isn’t over until Frankie Beverly sings.
In July 2004, Geraldine Wyckoff interviewed Beverly, for OffBeat’s Essence Festival issue, she wrote: “Beverly can’t put his finger on exactly why New Orleans embraced him as it did. Maybe it heard Beverly’s roots in gospel and the doo-wop groups he performed with like the Blenders and the Butlers. Perhaps it’s the influences of Sly & the Family Stone that struck a chord or the soul of Marvin Gaye with whom he traveled. It just might be that the New Orleans and Philly sounds share a certain down-to-earth groove that reaches out to local audiences. Whatever the case, New Orleans has had a long, rewarding and mutually happy relationship with Frankie Beverly & Maze that is rejuvenated and rejoiced in each year at Essence Festival.”
Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly. Promotional photo
Wyckoff asked: When did this love affair between Maze and New Orleans begin?
“The first album came out [Happy Feelings] in 1977 and it spread like a disease in that town. Our first tour—it was a promotional tour—was Mobile, Baton Rouge and New Orleans because that’s where the album was selling the most. So, we went down there and played a club and the guy that owned it promoted us at the Municipal Auditorium. And wow—it was like we were already there. It was our first record, and you would have never known that. Those people knew every song and just loved us. We wound up staying there maybe two or three weeks just playing every place in the state but mostly in New Orleans—we played the ILA Hall; we played things in the park.
“Pre-Essence we would come once or twice a year maybe at the university. Of course, we used to do the Saenger Theatre, which is where we did the Live in New Orleans album. And they gave us a classic album again—New Orleans. Like James Brown’s Live at the Apollo album, I think our Live in New Orleans is a classic and that’s not just because of us. That’s where you do it, what the crowd is like—a live album is a mixture of everything.”
In the same interview Beverly talks about New Orleans: “It’s as if we’re from there. They treat us with the same respect there that they do their artists that come from there. I don’t know if a lot of acts can say that about that town. I don’t know what it is. I’ve even asked my mother, ‘Mom, are you sure we don’t have no people that come from out of that area?’ It’s a special thing that happened with Maze and the city of New Orleans from 1977. I would like to think that yeah, we could do a fine job no matter where the Essence was held. But the fact that they hold it in New Orleans puts that right in our pocket—oh, yeah.”
Frankie Beverly. Photo from Facebook.
Asked “what’s going on with the line dance thing at Essence Festival” Beverly said: “I think it started there [New Orleans, Essence Festival]. I think the magnitude of it, when you see all them people doing it… From the point of view of the stage, I can’t even look at it because it looks like water. It almost makes me sick because there are different movements at different places. It’s a sea of this movement going on. Since maybe five years ago, on “Joy and Pain” we see that [line dancing] everywhere we play now. So, I think it’s probably the people that have come to the Essence and it’s carried over. New Orleans has given us something that we’re noted for. I look at these things as super, super blessings in the mix. This is more than just selling records and a good act. This is special stuff that has gone on in our lives. That city is synonymous with us and vice versa.”
After 50 years of performances and shows, Beverly performed his final concert in Philadelphia at the Dell Music Center, where Beverly had performed for decades.
Beverly’s signature style, with his soothing vocals and sophisticated musicianship, garnered a loyal fan base that continues to thrive. Despite never achieving massive commercial success, Frankie Beverly and Maze remain icons of classic soul music.
The Beverly Family statement reads as follows:
Grieving the loss of a loved one is a deeply personal and emotional experience. During this time, as we are navigating feelings of sorrow, reflection, and remembrance we kindly ask for privacy and understanding, allowing us the space to grieve in our own way. This period, for us, is one of healing, and your respect for our need for solitude is appreciated as we honor the memory of our beloved Howard Stanley Beverly known to the world as Frankie Beverly. He lived his life with a pure soul as one would say, and for us, no one did it better. He lived for his music, family and friends. Love one another as he would want that for us all.”
Asked in the OffBeat interview if you call yourself an optimist? Beverly responded “I am absolutely an optimist. Love will always find a way. They can drop bombs; they can wipe most of it out, but they can’t stop the world. Love will always rise back up. Lord knows man can be cruel and it’s hard to make that case at times, but I believe that in my heart. Nothing is more powerful than love.”
Photo courtesy of Frankie Beverely.
