Frankie Beverly, the Legendary R&B singer, songwriter, and producer, has passed away. He was 77.

Passing details for Frankie Beverly

His family shared the news on Instagram.

According to the post, Beverly, whose real name is Howard Stanley Beverly, died on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

“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,” the post read.

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The statement did not reveal the circumstances of his death.

Music career

A Philadelphia native, Beverly got his start in music at a young age, performing as a soloist in church while growing up in the city’s East Germantown neighborhood. As a teen, he sang with an ensemble called “The Silhouettes” before forming his own doo-wop group, “The Blenders.”

He then formed the group “Raw Soul” with his Philly friends in 1970, which would eventually become known as “Frankie Beverly and Maze.” Beverly then moved to San Francisco where he worked with the legendary Marvin Gaye, according to Beverly’s website.

“The Motown master would take the group under his wing and it was Gaye who suggested the group change their name. Frankie Beverly and Maze was born,” the website read.

Beverly was the lead singer, songwriter, producer and founder of the band Frankie Beverly and Maze. The group is a staple in the Black community, famously known for the songs “Before I Let Go,” “Joy and Pain,” and “Happy Feelin’s”. It’s not a cookout, family reunion, a party, and for some, the electric slide, without a Frankie Beverly and Maze song. Beverly’s “Before I Let Go”, was covered by Beyoncé in 2019 in her live album “Homecoming.”

Before his passing, Beverly and his band just completed their “I Wanna Thank You Farewell Tour” earlier this summer.

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Legendary actor James Earl Jones has passed away.

Jones died at his home in Dutchess County, NY, according to a family rep.

He was 93.

James Earl Jones was a revered actor

Born on January 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, MS, Jones was an acclaimed star of the stage and screen, widely known for his distinctive voice that enamored audiences. The actor amassed nearly 200 screen credits during his brilliant 60-year career, best known in film series Star Wars as the villain Darth Vader, Field of Dreams as Terence Mann, Coming To America as King Jaffe Joffer, and as well as many other films and Broadway shows. He also voiced The Lion King‘s Mufasa in both the 1994 animated film and 2019 hybrid remake.

Films

Among his dozens of other films are The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976), A Piece of the Action (1977), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Soul Man (1986), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Patriot Games (1992), Sneakers (1992), The Sandlot (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), Judge Dredd (1995), Gang Related (1997) and Coming 2 America (2021).

Television

Jones had many television guest roles on such classics as The Big Bang Theory, House, Two and a Half Men, Homicide: Life on the Street, Frasier, Touched by an Angel, Law & Order, Sesame Street, Highway to Heaven, NYPD Blue, Guiding Light, As the World Turns; and miniseries Roots: The Next Generation and Jesus of Nazareth.

Broadway

He also appeared in almost two dozen Broadway shows, from his first starring role Sunrise at Campobello (1958) and most recently in The Gin Game (2017). Along the way, he starred in productions of such stage classics as The Iceman Cometh (1974), Othello (1982), On Golden Pond (2005), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008) and You Can’t Take It with You (2014).

Accolades

He is one of the few entertainers to have won the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), though his Academy Award was Honorary. Jones has received two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy, a spoken-word Grammy Award in 1977 and three Tony Awards.

Jones is also a 2002 Kennedy Center Honoree and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from SAG-AFTRA in 2009 and by the National Board of Review in 1995.

Fatman Scoop, the popular New York City dj who’s tunes became a 1990s club favorite, died after he collapsed mid-performance during a free concert in Connecticut.

The entertainer’s death was confirmed by his family in a social media post.

Fatman scoop dies

“Last night, the world lost a radiant soul, a beacon of light on the stage and in life,” the post read, adding that he “was not just a world class performer, he was a father, brother, uncle and a friend.”

The post added the entertainer “was known to the world as the undisputed voice of the club. His music made us dance and embrace life with positivity.”

He was 56.

The New York-born artist, whose real name is Isaac Freeman III, was headlining the “Green & Gold Party” in Hamden, Conn. when he suffered a medical emergency, according to a local official.

A video circulating on social media shows Scoop hyping the crowd in his normal fashion, steps onto the DJ booth, and shortly collapses out of the audiences view.

People could be seen performing chest compressions behind the screen of the DJ set as other performers on stage led the crowd in prayer, according to the video and multiple reports.

Freeman was hauled off the stage in a stretcher and transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

Prominent DJ

Scoop has been a mainstay in the world of hip-hop most popular for his hit “Be Faithful”, which charted on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs. It wasn’t a party without a Fatman Scoop song.

He went on to be featured on numerous hits like Missy Elliot’s “Lose Control”, Mariah Carey’s Grammy-nominated “It’s Like That,” and has collaborated with Timberland and Magoo, Nick Cannon , and Skrillex.

In 2006, he won a Grammy for best short form music video for the Elliott track.

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