Frankie Beverly

Frankie Beverly (born Howard Beverly, 6 December 1946, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a singer, , producer, and songwriter, known primarily for his recordings with the soul and funk unit, Maze.

Biography

Pre-Maze years

Frankie Beverly started out singing gospel music in church as a schoolboy in Philadelphia. He has claimed that his first professional gig was a tour with The Silhouettes (famous for their 1958 hit Get A Job) when he was only twelve years old, but this is disputed by those associated with the group, whose members were never known to mention him while they were alive. [ cite web|url=http://www.thesilhouettes.org/frankie-beverly.htm |title=Frankie Beverly - A Silhouette? |accessdate=2008-01-20 ]

As a teenager he formed The Blenders, a short-lived a cappella, 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 the veteran producer Kenny Gamble, who eventually released recordings by the group.

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 re-christened as Raw Soul and caught the attention of 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.

Beverly's onstage attire (all-white casual clothing, including slacks, long-sleeved shirt, and a baseball cap) has become his signature dress style over the years.

References

Maze featuring Frankie Beverly

*Maze (band)
* [http://www.mazemuze.com/Background/ MazeMuze (official website)]

Trivia

*Although Beverly's first name from birth was Howard, he was so impressed by the music of Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, that he decided to change his first name to Frankie at the age of nine.
*He is mentioned in the song "Get It Shawty" by Lloyd
*He is mentioned in the song "Slow Jamz" by Twista, featuring Kanye West and Jamie Foxx
*He is mentioned in the song "Family Reunion" by Jill Scott
*He is mentioned in the song "Dreams" by The Game
*He is mentioned in the song "If I Could Make the World Dance" by R. Kelly on the "Happy People/U Saved Me" album. Kelly says that Beverly also inspired him to write the track "Love Street".
*He is mentioned in the song "Down For The Count" by Talib Kweli, featuring Rah Digga and Xzibit.

External links

* [http://www.mazemuze.com/Frankie/ MazeMuze biography]
*amg | id = 11:ruk9ikb6bb89 | label = Frankie Beverly
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4725986 NPR audio feature: Frankie Beverly, the Soul of Maze with Ed Gordon]
* [http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200510/20051011.html PBS audio feature: Frankie Beverly with Tavis Smiley]