Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly
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Maze’s Frankie Beverly started his career on tour with The
Silhouettes, a popular doo wop group, the twelve-year old Beverly had
previously sang gospel music in church. The Silhouettes had a hit entitled
Get a job, which was the influence for the Smokey Robinson
hit, Got a job.
Many members of the group knew of him (as they lived in the same
neighborhood). When they lost their lead vocalist, they invited Beverly to
join their group, which he toured with for a year or so.
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly was just a few years away. Shortly
afterwards, he formed The Blenders, a short-lived arcapella, doo-wop group
that were influenced by The Dells, The Moonglows, and The Del Vikings.
After that outfit dissolved, he founded The Butlers, which would be the
first group he recorded with in 1963. As time passed, they caught the
attention of veteran producer Kenny Gamble, who eventually released
recordings by the group.
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, a square peg in a round hole? 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 rechristened as Raw Soul and caught the attention a
sister-in-law to Marvin Gaye. He was so enamored by the act, he had them
as an opening act at his shows. Gaye also convinced Beverly to have the
band's name changed to Maze.
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly was adored by Marvin Gaye. Gaye was so
inspired by the group that he took them out on the road, letting them
perform some of their original material as an opening act, "really hanging
in there with us, paying our rent, helping us in every way he could.
”He loved me like a little brother and certainly working with him helped
bring our demos back to life. We sent them out again - the first time
around, no one was interested. This time, we got a call from Larkin Arnold
at Capitol Records about a week after he got the tape...and we had our
first record deal!"
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly are hit makers. The story of Maze's rise to
fame and consistent success has been well documented but, for the record,
the band - under Frankie's creative direction and leadership - has enjoyed
a run of close to thirty hit singles since 1977, nine of which have been
Top 10 R&B charted singles including the classics "Running Away," "Love Is
The Key," "Back In Stride," "Too Many Games," "Can't Get Over You," and
"Silky Soul." Eight of the group's ten albums have gone gold, all the way
from their 1977 Capitol debut to the 1993 Warner Brothers' album, "Back To
Basics."
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly cross the pond. In 1981, Frankie and
company made their first trip to the U.K., blowing audiences away with
their dynamic 'live' performances and establishing a bond that continues
to this day. The acceptance of the group's music in Europe was a defining
event for Frankie: "It was unbelievable to me! I was looking for black
folks to be at the shows because that's basically who makes up our
audiences here - and when I looked out there, I saw a crowd that was 99%
white, grooving, digging our music..."
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly look back. When Frankie reflects on over
thirty years as a music maker, he says that the early years spent paying
dues "prepared me for what has happened to me and the band. By the time we
started being successful, we were ready and we didn't get overwhelmed or
caught up in all that 'star' stuff. I was just thankful that people liked
our music. But when I started out, I never looked for any of this...I
mean, it blows me away that our logo has caught on and that people even
have a 'thing' about my hat, which has become almost like my personal
trademark. You see, I would have been happy selling 20,000 or 30,000
albums. To have all these gold records is much more then I ever hoped
for..."
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly break new artists. In addition to giving
audiences a truly exciting 'live' musical show on consistent yearly tours,
Frankie has also been responsible for introducing several artists to the
public. "I guess beyond what we've done with Maze, the second thing I'm
most proud of is that we've supported other artists. We were the first
group to give Natalie Cole a chance during her comeback years (in the
mid-'80s). We took Anita Baker out as our opening act on her first
national tour and did the same thing with Regina Belle and Toni
Braxton...and it makes me feel great to see how each of those artists has
gone to have great success..."
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly reflect again…Asked what he wants to
accomplish in the future, Frankie reflects, "The biggest thing is being
able to keep up with what people expect of us. My thing is trying never to
let the people down. You know, I still get butterflies real bad before I
go on stage but once I hit that stage, I'm ready. But I don't take
anything for granted and I know you have to earn your wings everyday..."
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly are a Bay Area band. A Bay Area resident
since the band moved there in the mid-'70s, Frankie says that his main
personal goal is "to maintain. I don't want to lose my 'thing.' I'd like
to refine what I do and maybe say more in my music. But I feel so blessed:
people show that they really respect me and the band and I just want to
keep giving the people what they want..."
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