RIP Frankie Beverly, Maze frontman and singer of “Before I Let Go”

Frankie Beverly – the legendary Philadelphia funk and soul singer, frontman of the band Maze – has died. “He lived his life with pure soul, as you would say, and for us, no one did it better. He lived for his music, his family and his friends,” his family wrote in a Social Media Statement announced his death today. Beverly was 77 years old.

Born Howard Stanley Beverly in Philadelphia in 1946, Beverly began his music career as a gospel singer in his local church. As a teenager, he formed a short-lived a cappella group called The Blenders before forming The Butlers in his hometown in 1963. The group eventually moved to San Francisco in the early 1970s, where it was renamed Raw Soul. In this form, the band caught the attention of soul legend Marvin Gaye, who invited them to open on one of his tours. It was also around this time that Gaye convinced the group to change their name to Maze.

Maze was signed to Capitol Records in 1976 and released their first album, Maze with Frankie Beverlythe following year. The record spawned several hits, such as “Happy Feelin's,” “While I'm Alone,” and “Lady of Magic,” and was certified gold later that year. The band released eight more gold albums until 1996, including Golden daytime, Love cannot be stopped, Silky soul, Live in New Orleansand more. Her hit singles over the years have included songs such as “Golden Time of Day,” “Southern Girl,” “The Look in Your Eyes,” “Joy and Pain,” “We Are One,” and “Before I Let Go,” which recently received a renewed boost in popularity after Beyoncé included it as a bonus track on Homecoming: The Live Album in 2019.

“This is one of the highlights of my life,” said Beverly when he heard his “great friend” perform the song in an interview with Billboard“I just thought it was a great little song, but I never imagined it would become this much. It really changed everything for me. It was a great song at the time and it's one of those things that this band can keep doing forever.”