Frankie Beverly, the hitmaker of “Before I Let Go” with his band Maze, has died. He was 77 years old.
His death on Tuesday was announced by his family on Wednesday on the official Frankie Beverly and Maze Facebook page.
“He lived his life with what you would say was a pure soul and for us, no one did it better,” the family wrote. “He lived for his music, his family and his friends. Love one another as he would have wanted us all to love.”
The family also asked for privacy in their mourning for the soul singer.
“Grief over the loss of a loved one is a deeply personal and emotional experience. During this time as we grapple with feelings of grief, reflection and remembrance, we politely ask for privacy and understanding so that we have the space to grieve in our own way,” the family wrote. “This time is a time of healing and your respect for our need for solitude is appreciated as we honor the memory of our beloved Howard Stanley Beverly, known to the world as Frankie Beverly.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Beverly’s representative for comment.
The Philadelphia native formed Maze in 1970 under the original name Raw Soul and opened for Marvin Gaye, who reportedly suggested the name change. The band, which also performed as Maze feat. Frankie Beverly, released nine gold albums from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, including hits such as “Joy and Pain,” “We Are One,” “Can’t Get Over You” and “Golden Time of Day.”
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The band is best known, however, for Beverly and Maze’s “Before I Let Go,” from their fifth album, 1981’s Live in New Orleans, which became synonymous with black barbecues, family reunions, and other gatherings.
“‘Before I Let Go’ really turned out to be something I never imagined at all,” Beverly told Essence in 2020. “I was blessed with it.”
The cheerful song, he said at the time, is actually about a lost love.
“I dated a woman, but I was just dating someone else and we broke up,” he told the outlet. “And it got pretty difficult because I wasn’t with the woman I wanted to be with and I couldn’t stay with the one I was with.”
In 2019, Beyoncé covered the song for her film “Homecoming” and the accompanying live album after her Coachella performance.
Beverly told Billboard this year that the platinum-certified cover was “one of the highlights of my life.”
The band has remained active over the past few years, performing live at festivals and touring on the “I Wanna Thank You Tour” earlier this year.
In March, Beverly received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the NAACP Image Awards.
