Frankie Beverly, the husky-voiced, white-clad soul singer from Philadelphia whose band Maze enjoyed a decades-long love affair with New Orleans, died Sept. 10, his family announced Wednesday. He was 77.
Among the classics on Frankie Beverly’s Maze list are “Joy and Pain,” “Before I Let Go,” “Back In Stride,” “Running Away, “We Are One” and “Happy Feelin’s.” For generations of Black fans, the music of Maze was in their lives, providing a soundtrack to an untold number of social events.
But the 1981 Maze album “Live in New Orleans,” recorded over two nights at the Saenger Theatre, is often cited as one of the greatest concert albums ever recorded, especially in the genre of R&B/soul.
Beverly’s death comes just two months after the Essence Festival of Culture saluted him at the Caesars Superdome. From 1995 to 2010, Maze closed the first 15 years of Essence Fest, triggering a mass Electric Slide on the floor of the Dome.
Lately, Beverly and company made an annual appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s Congo Square Stage.
Beverly stepped into New Orleans one last time on May 25, as Maze headlined a sold-out Smoothie King Center. Most of the 14,000 fans-heck, legions of faithful-wore white, just like Beverly’s signature stage garment.
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