Composer, lyricist, producer Frankie Beverly was born Howard Beverly on December 6, 1946, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and reared in the East Germantown section of the city. He began singing gospel music in a local church and was showcased as a soloist as a child. In 1959, at the age of 13, Beverly sang with an ensemble called The Silhouettes, and by 16, he formed an A cappella, doo-wop ensemble called The Blenders. He graduated from Germantown High School in 1964. Inspired by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the R&B doo-wop icon, Beverly changed his first name, idolizing Lymon.
In 1970, Beverly formed Maze in Philadelphia and served as its principal vocalist. The group was first called Raw Soul and had been the touring backup band for R&B legend Marvin Gaye who insisted the ensemble’s name change. Beverly relocated to San Francisco, California, in 1971.
Beverly was featured in a number of top songs by Maze in the late 1970s and the 1980s. The group released its debut album, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, in 1976 and it went gold selling more than 500,000 copies. The album including “While I’m Alone” which peaked at no. 21 on the Billboard R&B chart and 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Feel That You’re Feelin’ “from the 1979 album Inspiration reached no.7 on the R&B chart while “Southern Girl” from the album, Joy and Pain peaked at no.9 R&B in 1980. The 1981 album Live in New Orleans included “Running Away” which peaked at no.55 R&B and “Before I Let Go” reached no. 13 R&B. Four years later in 1985, “Too Many Games” from Can’t Stop the Love went to no. 5 R&B while “Back In Stride” peaked at no. 88 on Billboard Hot 100. The single, “Can’t Get Over You” reached no. 59 R&B in 1989 while “Love’s On the Run” and “Songs of Love” both from Silky Soul (1990) peaked at no.13 and 37 on the R&B chart respectively.
Beverly’s song “Hustler’s Ambition” from the 50 Cent movie, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was nominated for “Outstanding Original Song” for the Satellite Award in 2005.
In 2012, Beverly received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards in Los Angeles, California. He performed at the 2019 Essence Festival at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans in 2019.
The father of one son, Anthony Beverly, and three grandchildren, Frankie Beverly, has scored five gold recordings.
