Frankie Beverly, Leader of Funk Band Maze, Dies

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1980’s Live in New Orleans album was one of nine that went Gold

Frankie Beverly, the founder and leader of the soul and funk band Maze, died on September 10, 2024. His death at age 77 was announced on Sept. 11 by his family on the band’s official Facebook page. No cause of death was revealed. Beverly was the group’s writer, producer and lead singer.

In their statement, the family wrote, “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.”

Though the group never scored a pop hit while only charting on the upper reaches of the Hot 100 with four songs, they were a regular fixture on the R&B chart, from their first single in 1977 through their last in 1994. Along the way, they earned a pair of #1 singles—1985’s “Back in Stride” (on Capitol Records) and 1989’s “Can’t Get Over You” (when they had moved to Warner Bros. Records)—among their nine that reached the top 10.

All told, the group, variously called Maze, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, and Frankie Beverly & Maze, earned nine Gold albums including two that topped the R&B sales chart.

Beverly founded the band in Philadelphia in 1970 under the moniker Raw Soul. Upon moving to San Francisco in the mid ’70s and being introduced to Marvin Gaye, who took them out on the road as an opening act, they changed their name to Maze in part due to Gaye’s suggestion. Along with having roots in both Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay area, Maze has always considered New Orleans their home base. Beverly has credited the city for the Gold status of their 1977 debut album, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly, saying that the majority of copies were sold in Louisiana and the greater New Orleans area.

Beverly was born Howard Beverly on December 6, 1946, in Philadelphia.

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