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Frankie Beverly, long known as the frontman for the soul and funk band Maze, has died according to a statement released by the family. Beverly began his career as a teenager before eventually honing his sound which later became one of the foundations of modern R&B.
Beverly was born December 6, 1946, in Philadelphia, Pa., and lived in the East Germantown section. Beverly began singing in church and joined his first band at the age of 13. At 16, much to the dismay of his father who wanted him to take a more traditional route, Beverly formed an acapella group known as The Blenders. While still trying to find his signature sound, Beverly formed a new band known as The Butlers, who cut their first record in 1963.
In 1970, determined to make it in music, Beverly formed the band Raw Soul and moved west to San Francisco to pursue a career in the industry. A chance meeting with the sister-in-law of Marvin Gaye at the time led to a fruitful connection leading to opportunities for the band. The group toured with Gaye as his opening act and according to several accounts, the legendary R&B star urged Beverly to change the band’s name from Raw Soup to Maze.
Through the late 1970s and mid-1980s, Maze notched several hits that charted on Billboard’s Hot 100 and U.S. R&B charts, including “Joy & Pain,” “Southern Girl,” “Back In Stride” and the backyard two-step classic, “Before I Let Go” which was covered in 2019 by Beyoncé.
In the world of Hip-Hop, Maze has been sampled by a few notables of the genre including 50 Cent, T.I., Tha Dogg Pound, Rob Base & DJ EZ-Rock, 2Pac, and more. Maze was also a huge touring act, which featured Beverly in his signature all-white attire complete with a white baseball cap.
The statement from the Beverly family was shared on Instagram and reads as follows:
Grieving the loss of a loved one is a deeply personal and emotional experience. During this time, as we are navigating feelings of sorrow, reflection, and remembrance we kindly ask for privacy and understanding, allowing us the space to grieve in our own way. This period for is one 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.
He lived his life with pure soul as one would say, and for us, no one did it better. He lived for his music, family and friends.
Love one another as he would want that for us all.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, fans of Beverly expressed their sorrow and celebrated the life and legacy of the singer. We’ve got those reactions below.
Beverly was 77.
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Photo: Brian Stukes / Getty
Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins, an original member of Parliament-Funkadelic, has died. He was 81.
P-Funk frontman/producer George Clinton announced the singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s death through social media on Friday (March 17). A cause of death was not provided.
“We are saddened to announce the passing of an original Parliament Funkadelic member Clarence Eugene ‘Fuzzy’ Haskins (born June 8, 1941-March 17th, 2023),” Clinton wrote on Instagram alongside photos of Haskins. He added in a Facebook post, “Give up the Fuzz, Fly on.”
Former Parliament-Funkadelic member Bootsy Collins also paid tribute to his former bandmate on Twitter.
“Prayer’s going out to Clarence ‘Fuzzys’ Haskins family & friends. We lost his frequency today 3-17- 23,” Collins wrote on Friday. “He was an original Parliament/Funkadelic inducted in the RHOF. We will miss u my friend, bandmate & Soul brother! Thx u for ur guidance in my pup year’s. Bootsy baby!!”
Born in 1941 in West Virginia, Haskins was a member of the Gel-Airs before joining group originally known as the Parliaments, first formed in the 1960s as a doo-wop quintet with Clinton, Calvin Simon, Grady Thomas and Ray Davis. The group that later became known as Parliament-Funkadelic.
Haskins is credited for his contributions to P-Funk tracks like “I Got a Thing” and “I Wanna Know If It’s Good to You,” according to a post about Haskins on Clinton’s website.
“He was a good drummer as well, as he proved on ‘Can You Get to That,’ which he also co-wrote,” Clinton’s site says. “Some of Fuzzy’s best vocals appeared on Funkadelic’s 1972 LP America Eats Its Young, most notably on ‘Ms Lucifers Love.’ But singing wasn’t the only thing that Fuzzy brought to P-Funk. He was known, during live P-Funk shows, to don skin-tight bodysuits and gyrate against the microphone pole as he whipped the crowd into a frenzy, especially when they performed ‘Standing on the Verge of Getting it On.’”
Haskins remained a full-time member of P-Funk through the late 1970s. He released his first solo album, A Whole Nother Thang, in 1976 through Westbound Records. The set featured collaborations with Bernie Worrell, Donald Austin and Collins. Haskins dropped his second solo album, Radio Active, in 1978.
Haskins briefly rejoined Parliament-Funkadelic for the group’s P-Funk Live Earth Tour in 1977 before leaving the group again for good. “By this time, he claimed he was through with singing all the ole dirty songs and began studying the Lord’s Word,” Clinton’s site says.
In 1981, Haskins joined former P-Funk members Simon, Davis and Thomas to release the Connections & Disconnections album under the Funkadelic name, which prompted a lawsuit by Clinton. In his later years, Haskins became a preacher and recorded gospel music.
Along with other members of Parliament-Funkadelic, Haskins was inducted by Prince into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
“Funk is a force that tore the roof off the sucker that is modern music,” Prince said in their Rock Hall introduction.
Clinton and the other members of Parliament-Funkadelic received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2019.
Funk legend Bootsy Collins will take the stage on Sunday (Jan. 15) night to cheer on the Cincinnati Bengals for a halftime performance during his hometown team’s battle against the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
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Marking the funketeer’s first public live performance since 2019, the halftime set will feature the debut of his new track, “The Ickey Shuffle.” The thumping song is a tribute to legendary Bengals running back Ickey Woods — a beloved late 1980s-early 1990s fan favorite best known for his iconic end zone dance of the same name — and it showcases Collins’ song, Ouiwey Collins, on vocals and is accompanied by a high-energy video starring Woods, the Ben-Gals cheerleaders and some digital tigers.
Collins will unveil the song at halftime of the game that begins on NBC at 8:15 p.m. ET, with members of nearby Dayton, Ohio’s The Ohio Players (“Fire,” “Love Rollercoaster”) joining in on the jam; the performance was originally slated to take place during the ill-fated Jan. 2 game between the Bengals and Buffalo Bills, during which Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after suffering cardiac arrest.
“We was ready to funk it out with the Bengals Who-Dey Baby and something just wasn’t right, everything just went chaotic,” Collins said of the scotched performance in a statement. “I immediately started watching the monitor in my dressing room and seen that beautiful young man on the ground. Patti my wife immediately looked at me and I said ‘Patti, God is trying to tell us that we all need to be On The One right now’ and she agreed. Bless that young man.” Collins will also play his Bengals pump-up anthem “Fear Da Tiger” during halftime.
Bengals fans are invited to create their own version of the Shuffle, with partial proceeds from the track going to the Jovante Woods Foundation in honor of Ickey and Chandra Woods’ 16-year-old song, Jovante, who died in 2010 from complications of an asthma attack.
Before Woods takes it to the stage, the game will open with a performance of the National Anthem by a member of the Stranger Things family. The Bengals announced that Aidan Fisher, the guitar body double for Joseph Quinn’s Metallica-shredding character Eddie Munson, will shred the Anthem to kick off the wild card game that marks the third battle between the Ravens and Bengals this season and the follow-up to last week’s Cincinnati victory.
Watch the “Ickey Shuffle” video below.
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