Maze

by Alex HendersonCombining a Philadelphia soul sound with a strong appreciation of Marvin Gaye, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly was among the top R&B acts of the late 70s and 80s. The distinctive Maze and its charismatic lead singer, founder, producer, and songwriter Beverly didnt have many pop hits, but they were extremely popular among soul and urban contemporary audiences and enjoyed at least six or seven gold albums. Beverly was born Howard Beverly in Philadelphia, PA, on December 6, 1946; he started calling himself Frankie after hearing Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers (a major doo wop group) when he was only nine years old in 1956. Before that, Beverly had been singing gospel in church, and it was Lymon who made him realize that he wanted to perform secular music. That isnt to say that Beverlys appreciation of gospel ever went away; the gospel influence remained when he was in his forties and fifties, but secular R&B would be his main focus. When Beverly was 12, he joined the Philly doo wop group the Silhouettes (who were known for their hit Get a Job) and went on tour with them in 1959. Then, in the early 60s, he founded and led a short-lived doo wop/soul vocal group called the Blenders. After the Blenders breakup, a 17-year-old Beverly founded another vocal group in 1963: the Butlers, who favored a Northern soul approach. The Butlers never became well-known nationally, although they did provide a few singles (including The Suns Message and She Tried to Kiss Me) and recorded for small, Philly based labels like Fairmount, Liberty Bell, and Guyden. The Butlers also recorded for Gamble Records, a small label that was named after producer/songwriter Kenny Gamble (who went on to co-own a huge R&B empire when he ran Philadelphia International Records with fellow Philadelphian Leon Huff in the 70s). It was in 1970 that Beverly founded the band that eventually came to be known as Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly. Originally, Maze went by Raw Soul; using that name, it recorded three singles for Phillys small Gregar label in the early 70s (one of which was a cover of bluesman Taj Mahals Today May Not Be Your Day). Although Beverly was born and raised in Philly, he has been quoted as saying that he never thought of himself as part of the Philly sound, and while his band does have Philly influences, it didnt fit into either the Gamble & Huff/Philadelphia International school of Philly soul or the Thom Bell/Linda Creed school (which the Delfonics, the Moments, and the Stylistics were a part of). Further, Raw Souls sound owed as much to Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers as it did to any of the soulsters who came out of Philly in the 60s or 70s. Feeling out of place in his home town, Beverly moved Raw Soul to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971. Raw Soul had been playing the San Francisco/Oakland scene for several years when Beverlys idol, Marvin Gaye, became aware of the band. Quite impressed by Beverlys singing and songwriting, Gaye sang Raw Souls praises to Capitol and helped them land a deal with that major label in 1976. One thing Gaye didnt like about Beverlys band was the name Raw Soul. The late soul giant insisted on a name change and after considering a few other names (including Karma and Charisma), Raw Soul officially became Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly in 1976. (The name Karma wouldnt have worked because an obscure, L.A.-based funk/jazz outfit called Karma was recording for A&M around 1976-1977). Mazes self-titled debut album was released by Capitol in 1977; that album (which contains the hits Happy Feelins, While Im Alone, and Lady of Magic) went gold and earned Maze an extremely devoted following. The bands 1977 lineup consisted of Beverly on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Wayne Thomas on lead guitar, Sam Porter on keyboards, Ronald Roame Loary and McKinley Bug Williams on percussion and background vocals, and Joe Provost on drums. In 1978, Provost was replaced by Ahaguna G. Sun, formerly of a little-known soul/funk group called Sunbear; subsequently, Sun was replaced by Billy Shoes Johnson. There were other personnel changes along the way; keyboardist Phillip Woo (formerly of Roy Ayers band Ubiquity) joined Maze in 1980, and Ron Smith was the guitarist who replaced Thomas. But regardless of who was coming or going, Maze always reflected Beverlys vision — Beverly was to Maze what George Clinton was to Parliament/Funkadelic. 1978 saw the release of Mazes second album, Golden Time of Day, which contains the number-nine R&B hit Workin Together. Golden Time of Day went gold, as did 1979s Inspiration and 1980s Joy and Pain (the album that gave us the major hit Southern Girl). In the late 70s, Maze earned a reputation for having one of the best live shows in R&B and their first live album, Live in New Orleans (a two-LP set), came out in 1981. Another live double-LP, Live in Los Angeles, was released in 1986, which was the year after Mazes funky Back in Stride reached number one on Billboards R&B singles chart and became their biggest hit ever. In 1989, Maze left Capitol for Warner Bros. and recorded Silky Soul; the title track, an ode to Marvin Gaye, was a major hit. By that time, Maze was receiving a lot of attention from the rap world — their recordings were being sampled extensively by hip-hoppers. In 1988, rapper Rob Base used the chorus of Mazes Joy and Pain on a single that had the same title — unfortunately, Base did so without permission and Beverly threatened legal action. Maze didnt enjoy many hits in the 90s, although their live shows continued to be well-received by a very devoted fan base.