In the long and storied history of Philadelphia music, the name Howard “Frankie” Beverly belongs at the very top.
For almost six decades, Beverly and his band Maze amassed a global, cult-like following which made them one of the most successful touring R&B bands of all time. Beverly’s one-of-a-kind baritone voice, along with his signature hat and white outfit, made him a transcendent figure beloved by multiple generations of music lovers. The city of Philadelphia region and the world at large suffered a significant loss with Beverly’s passing on September 10.
After the news of Beverly’s passing became public, tributes poured in appreciating the timelessness of his music and the quality of his character.
“Frankie Beverly was a legend way before Maze. A Philadelphia Legend. This is our yacht soul. Our feel-good music. This is the pinnacle of what passionate soul music was about. This is the ORIGINAL IYKYK — cause only certain folk was up on the magic of Frankie Beverly’s music and yet EVERY show was sold out and some of the best feel-good vibes that Black music has ever produced in the 70s,” read an Instagram post by Questlove of The Roots.
“This is why EVERY DJ rocks ‘Before I Let Go’ & ‘Joy & Pain’ at every function (someone told me ‘Before I Let Go’ was Black people’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ — once played EVERYONE acts accordingly,” the post continued. “This gentleman was the soundtrack to the perfect family BBQ/reunion inside our heads & hearts. We will miss you and we thank you for what you left us Brother Frankie.”
A star from the start
Born in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Beverly’s father was a truck driver and his mother took care of the family home. As a student at Germantown High School, he discovered his gift of song at his Baptist church, where his father was a deacon.
Shortly thereafter, he fell in love with doo-wop and the style of his first musical hero Frankie Lymon and his group the Teenagers. Eventually, Howard changed his name to “Frankie” to pay homage to his idol.
After going on a year-long tour at 12 years old with the Silhouettes, who had a number-one hit with “Get a Job” in 1958, he formed the Blenders, and then Frankie Beverly and the Butlers in 1963. He recorded several singles for Gamble Records, a local label owned by legendary songwriter-producer Kenny Gamble, who would go on to co-found Philadelphia International Records with Leon Huff.
Following the influence of Sly and the Family Stone, Beverly changed his musical motif and began moving in the direction of funk and soul. The Butlers would transform into Raw Soul and relocate to San Francisco, where they cultivated their own unique sound that distinguished them from “The Sound of Philadelphia” (TSOP).
As the group toiled in the Bay area and honed their craft, Motown legend Marvin Gaye heard them in a nightclub and fell in love with the group. Gaye took the band on tour with him, but insisted that they change their name. Percussionist Roame Lowry, an original member of the group, came up with the name Maze and the rest is history.
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly would sign with Capitol Records when Gaye introduced them to record executive Larkin Arnold, and a legendary run began. The group released countless songs — “While I’m Alone,” “Happy Feelings,” “Golden Time of Day,” “Southern Girl,” “The Look in Your Eyes,” “Joy and Pain,” “We Are One,” “Back in Stride,” “Can’t Get Over You” and, of course, the Black National Anthem of Celebration, “Before I Let Go” (Beyoncé famously covered the classic song in 2019).
From 1977 to 1993, Maze released nine gold albums and built a global following that allowed them to sell out venues all over the world without crossing over the mainstream. For most of his career, Frankie Beverly was one of the best-kept secrets in the music industry, with epic live shows that earned them the nickname “the Black Grateful Dead.” In an interview in 1994, Beverly spoke about how the group succeeded without compromising his artistic vision.
“I wish more people did know who I was,” Beverly told the Baltimore Sun. “But if it’s at the expense of me giving up this thing we have, then I just have to wait until they find out. ’Cause whatever we have, whatever this thing is that we seem to have a part of, it’s a cult kind of thing.”
Acclaimed multimedia personality Dyana WIlliams spoke with Billy Penn about first hearing Frankie’s music and his longevity,
“I became aware of Frankie Beverly and Maze in the ‘70s when I was on the radio in New York. I played his music the entire breadth and depth of his recording career. As you all know, he didn’t record anything new in the 21st century,” Williams noted. “The music we loved and we saw in his concert performances was all music from the ‘70s through the early ‘90s. It shows that great music will stand the test of time.”
Notoriously private and extremely selective about doing interviews, Beverly opened up in the last years of his life to his adoring fans, who showered him with love and appreciation. He began making more public appearances where he received lifetime achievement awards, conducted more interviews, and in May, he was honored with a street that was renamed in his honor. The East Germantown block of North Norwood Street, between Church Lane and West Godfrey, is now known as Frankie Beverly Way. He last performed at a retirement concert in June at the Dell Music Center.
Although he never won a Grammy Award and wasn’t considered a pop star, his artistry transcended accolades and awards. Beverly built an inclusive community and the undying loyalty of his fans was Beverly’s ultimate satisfaction.
What separated Beverly from most of his contemporaries was that he was ours and loved it. He refused to change his art for mass consumption and he outlasted many of his peers by simply being himself. His genius was not just his vocal prowess and songwriting, but his genuine humanity and immense spirituality that was the scarlet thread of his musicianship and his life.
For the impact of your music, the sensitivity of your spirit, and for your cool, “We wanna thank you Frankie ‘cause you’ve made it this way.”
