American singer, songwriter, and producer, born on December 6, 1946, in North Philadelphia and died on September 10, 2024, aged 77.

At age nine, he saw [[artist:308654]] who had a profound influence on him and consequently he became known as "Little Frankie".

His first band as leader was The Blenders, a short-lived a cappella doo-wop group. In 1963, he founded [The Butlers](https://www.discogs.com/artist/599033-Frankie-Beverly-And-The-Butlers) and recorded for various labels, including: [[label:63633]], [[label:163862]] and [[label:51677]]. In 1970, Frankie started a new band called [Raw Soul](https://www.discogs.com/artist/135989-Frankie-Beverlys-Raw-Soul). They got their big break when Janis Hunter saw the band and told her fiancé [[artist:18984]] about them. Marvin was impressed and they opened for him on his I Want You tour. He persuaded them to change their name and they became Maze.

Maze signed to Capitol Records in 1977.