Frankie Beverly & Maze may be the ultimate Urban Contemporary group, though they're much more soulful and funky than many of their counterparts. They began in Philadelphia as the Butlers, and later became Raw Soul. They moved to San Francisco in the mid-'70s, and switched identities again to Maze. The lineup was lead singer Frankie Beverly, Wayne Thomas, Sam Porter, Robin Duke, Roame Lowry, McKinley Williams and Joe Provost. Ahaguna G. Sun later replaced Provost, and Sun was subsequently replaced by Billy "Shoes" Johnson. Ron Smith replaced Thomas, and Phillip Woo was added on keyboards in 1980. Though they've had only one number one R&B hit in their long tenure ("Back in Stride" in 1985), Maze's popularity is unquestioned, especially as a live act. They recorded for Capitol from 1977 until 1989, when they moved to Warner Brothers and issued another smash LP in Silky Soul. Other releases include 1993's Back to Basics and 1996's Southern Girl. -- Ron Wynn, All-Music Guide

Frankie Beverly (b. 6 December 1946, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) had an apprenticeship in several Philadelphia groups. One such unit, Frankie Beverly And The Butlers, recorded several well-received singles in the 60s, but never managed to attract more than local play. By the early 70s, however, impressed by Santana and Sly And The Family Stone, he formed a self-contained band, Raw Soul, and they moved to San Francisco where they became the house band at a local club, the Scene. Discovered by a girlfriend of Marvin Gaye , the group subsequently supported the singer in concert, and it was he who suggested they change their name in deference to their now cooler sound. The septet, which featured Wayne aka Wuane Thomas, Sam Porter, Robin Duke, Roame Lowery, McKinley Williams, Joe Provost plus Beverly, thus became Maze. Their debut album was issued in January 1977, since which time Maze have remained one of soul's most consistent live attractions. Indeed, the group sold out six consecutive nights at London's Hammersmith Odeon during their 1985 tour. However, Beverly's brand of funk/R&B has failed to achieve the wider recognition it deserves and he remains something of a cult figure.

Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 1998

Maze Home Page

Maze-Frankie Beverly

LOOK	ALBUM	YEAR
	Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly	1977
	Golden Time of Day	1978
	Inspiration	1979
	Joy and Pain	1980
	Live in New Orleans	1981
	We Are One	1983
	Can't Stop the Love	1985
	Live in Los Angeles	1986
	Silky Soul	1989
	Back to Basics	1993
	Southern Girl	1996
	Anthology	1996

1977 Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly

1. Time is on my side 2. Happy feelin's 3. Color blind 4. Lady of magic

5. While I'm alone 6. You 7. Look at California

1978 Golden Time of Day

1. Travelin' man 2. Song for my mother 3. You're not the same 4. Workin' together

5. Golden time of day 6. I wish you well 7. I need you

1979 Inspiration

1. Lovely Inspiration 2. Feel That You're Feelin' 3. Call On Me 4. Timin'

5. Welcome Home 6. Woman Is A Wonder 7. Ain't It Strange 8. Lovely Inspiration (Intstumental)

1980 Joy and Pain

1. Changing Times 2. The Look In Your Eyes 3. Family 4. Roots (instrumental)

5. Joy And Pain 6. Southern Girl 7. Happiness

1981 Live in New Orleans

01. Changing Times 02. Reason 03. Joy And Pain 04. Southern Girl 05. Look At California

06. Feel That You're Feeling 07. The Look In Your Eyes 08. Running Away 09. Before I Let Go 10. We Need Love To Live

1983 We Are One

1. Love is the key 2. Right on time 3. Your own kind of way 4. I wanna thank you

5. We are one 6. Never let you down 7. I love you too much 8. Metropolis

1985 Can't Stop the Love

1. Back In Stride 2. Can't Stop The Love 3. Reachin' Down Inside

4. Too Many Games 5. I Want To Feel I'm Wanted 6. Magic 7. A Place In My Heart

1986 Live in Los Angeles

01. Running Away 02. Freedom (South Africa) 03. I Wanna Be With You 04. Dee's Song 05. When You Love Someone 06. Too Many Games 07. I Wanna Thank You

08. You 09. Happy Feelin's 10. Feel That You're Feelin' 11. I Want To Feel I'm Wanted 12. We Are One 13. Back In Stride

1989 Silky Soul

01. Silky Soul 02. Africa 03. Can't Get Over You 04. Just Us 05. Somebody's Else's Arms

06. Midnight (Instumental) 07. Love's On The Run 08. Change Our Ways 09. Songs Of Love 10. Mandela

1993 Back to Basics

1. Nobody Knows What You Feel Inside 2. Love Is 3. The Morning After 4. Laid Back Girl 5. What Goes Up

6. In Time 7. All Night Long 8. Don't Wanna Lose Your Love 9. Twilight (Instumental)

1996 Southern Girl

1. Southern Girl 2. Back in Stride 3. Never Let You Down 4. Joy and Pain

5. I Wanna Be with You 6. Travelin' Man 7. Too Many Games

1996 Anthology

Disc 1 01. While I'm Alone 02. Reason 03. Lady Of Magic 04. Workin' Together 05. Golden Time Of Day 06. Feel That You're Feeling 07. Lovely Inspiration 08. Southern Girl 09. Joy And Pain 10. Happy Feelings (Live)

Disc 2 01. Running Away 02. When You Love Someone 03. Before I Let Go 04. Love Is The Key 05. Never Let You Down 06. I Wanna Thank You 07. Your Own Kind Of Way 08. Back In Stride 09. Too Many Games 10. I Wanna Be With You

MAIN PAGE	BLUES	OLD SCHOOL FUNK
GOLDEN VOICES	GREAT GROUPS	ROCK AND ROLL
RHYTHM AND BLUES	JAZZ	SILKY SOUL SINGERS
EMAIL		GRAPHICS BY YS MCCOOL