Biography
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Years Active
1976 – present (48 years)
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Founded In
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States
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Members
- Billy Johnson
- Carl Wheeler
- Frankie Beverly
- McKinley Williams
- Roame
The band can be considered as the project of former The Butlers, and later Raw Soul, member Frankie Beverly; being songwriter, record producer, arranger, singer, keyboardist and guitarist. See also Maze & Frankie Beverly.
The Philadelphia born Beverly started the group as Raw Soul in 1970. They recorded a couple of singles on the small Gregar label, but without any major hits. But with a few personnel changes, a relocation from Philadelphia to the San Francisco Bay Area in California in 1971, and an introduction to Marvin Gaye, the group became an immediate success. Gaye took the group on the road with him as one of his opening acts, and in 1976 he suggested that they changed their name from Raw Soul to Maze.
Maze signed a recording contract with Capitol Records in 1976, and released their debut album, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, in 1977. From that album, the hit singles included "Happy Feelin's," "While I'm Alone," and "Lady of Magic"; ultimately giving them their first gold record and earning Maze a devoted fan base. They also had success with the following albums Golden Time of Day (1978), Inspiration (1979) and Joy and Pain (1980).
Their next recording was Live in New Orleans, three quarters of which was recorded at the Saenger Theatre, on November 14–15, 1980. Three of those songs got into the U.S. R&B chart, including "Running Away," "Before I Let Go," and "We Need Love To Live." By that time, the band had both a reputation in America also enjoyed a following in the United Kingdom with promotional support from the British DJ Robbie Vincent. In May 1985, Maze sold out eight nights at the Hammersmith Odeon.
In 1989, they signed with Warner Bros. and released the hit album Silky Soul, plus Back to Basics in 1993, and released the live DVD recording at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1994. The two albums also attained gold disc status.
The group released Can't Stop the Love in March 1985, which featured the group's first number one R&B hit "Back In Stride." The Top 5 follow-up, "Too Many Games," was part of that recording. They had another number one R&B success with "Can't Get Over You."
In October 2004, "Twilight" appeared in the video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on funk radio station, Bounce FM.
Maze continues to tour around the United States as well as Europe to this day. Every year they are the also the closing act for the Essence Music Festival.
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