R&B Legend Frankie Beverly Passes at 77

Frankie Beverly and Maze perform in New Orleans during his farewell tour earlier in 2024.Photo byphoto by Jeff Strout

It was announced today by his family on Instagram that the popular R & B artist Frankie Beverly had passed away the day before. He was 77 years old. Beverly was the founder of the group Raw Soul before he changed the name of the group to Maze.

He was born in Philadelphia but soon moved out west to San Francisco where he met Marvin Gaye. After that meeting, in time he changed the name of his band to Maze, which took off in a career that saw them get 9 gold albums.

Always an amazing and energetic front man his smooth baritone voice, he was a natural for the R & B movement. Before I Let Go, Back in Stride Again, Joy And Pain and We Are One are just some of the smooth and enjoyable songs that Frankie & Maze put out.

As a front man Frankie was fun, energetic and always gave off a smooth and enjoyable, laid-back west coast vibe. He wore casual clothing with a baseball hat, usually all white which soon became the popular thing to wear at his concerts. Even when he toured later in life, fans would wear all white to commemorate all that he and Maze did in the music industry.

Beyoncé did a cover of their hit Before I Let Go, which Beverly was humbly ecstatic about. Maze was a huge hit overseas in the UK.