featuring Frankie Beverly
Combining 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 didn’t have many pop hits, but they were extremely popular among soul and urban contemporary audiences and enjoyed at least six or seven gold albums. Maze’s self-titled debut album was released by Capitol in 1977; that album (which contains the hits “Happy Feelin’s,” “While I’m Alone,” and “Lady of Magic”) went gold and earned Maze an extremely devoted following. 1978 saw the release of Maze’s second album, Golden Time of Day, which contains the R&B hit “Workin’ Together.” Golden Time of Day went gold, as did 1979’s Inspiration and 1980’s 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 Maze’s funky “Back in Stride” reached number one on Billboard’s R&B singles chart and became their biggest hit ever. In 2011, Maze released a greatest hits compilation. They continue to groove around the globe.
