Artist:Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly
Song:Love Is The Key
Album:Anthology
At a time when Disco was king in the late 70s, Maze was a very popular R & B group led by Frankie Beverly. He was born Howard Beverly Dec. 6, 1946 in Philadelphia and changed his name to Frankie as a tribute to Frankie Lymon. He grew up singing in church and started out with The Silhouettes at age 12. In 1963 he formed a group called The Butlers and recorded for legendary Philly Soul producer Kenny Gamble. In 1970 he founded the group Raw Soul and moved to Oakland. Beverly's big break came in 1976 when his idol Marvin Gaye became aware of the group and got them a contract with Capitol. But Gaye didn't like the name Raw Soul and changed the name to Maze. Their 1977 debut went gold and began several years atop the R & B charts. The group had personnel changes but the one constant was Beverly and he wrote most of their songs. Love Is The Key was a top five R & B hit from the 1983 album We Are One. It was their last big chart hit. This 2CD comp has all their Capitol hits. Maze moved to Warner Bros. in 1989 but didn't have success there. They still tour today but haven't recorded in years. But like a lot of 70s R & B groups, Maze has been a big influence on hip hop. Here's Maze performing Joy & Pain in New Orleans in 1981. This was sampled by DJ Rob Base in 1988 and was a huge rap hit.
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