Biography
Born in Philadelphia Frankie Beverly, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger and keyboardist started the group as Raw Soul in 1970. The band can be considered as the project of former The Butlers,
They recorded a couple of singles on the small Gregar label, but without any major hits. But with a few personnel changes, relocation from Philadelphia to the San Francisco Bay Area in California in 1971 that proved to be the making of the group, and with an introduction to Marvin Gaye, they became an immediate success. Gaye took the group on the road with him as one of his opening acts, and in 1976 he suggested that they changed their name from Raw Soul to Maze.
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Releasing their debut album with Capitol Records in 1976, the New Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, the following year had three hits from that album, “Happy Feelin's” "While I'm Alone", and "Lady of Magic"; ultimately giving them their first Gold record and earning Maze a devoted fan base. They also had success with the following albums Golden Time of Day (1978), Inspiration (1979) and Joy and Pain (1980).
Their next recording was Live in New Orleans, three quarters of which was recorded at the Saenger Theatre, on November 14–15, 1980. Three of those songs got into the US R&B chart, including "Running Away", "Before I Let You Go", and "We Need Love To Live". By that time, the band had both a reputation in America and also enjoyed a following in the United Kingdom with promotional support from the British DJ Robbie Vincent. In May 1985, Maze sold out eight nights at the Hammersmith Odeon.
The group released Can't Stop the Love in March 1985, which featured the group's first number one R&B hit "Back In Stride". The Top 5follow-up, "Too Many Games", was part of that recording.
In 1989, they signed with Warner Bros. and released the hit album Silky Soul, plus Back to Basics in 1993, and released the live DVD recording at London’s Hammersmith Odeon in 1994. The two albums also attained gold disc status. They had another number one R&B success with "Can't Get Over You".
In October 2004, "Twilight" appeared in the video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on funk radio station, Bounce FM.
In 2009, a tribute to the hits of Maze was released to great critical praise. Called "Silky Soul Music: An All Star Tribute to Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly," it included many modern stars performing Maze's biggest hits with Maze acting as the backing band.
Maze continues to tour around the United States as well as Europe to this day. Every year they are also the closing act for the Essence Music Festival.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.