Frankie Beverly Added Posthumously to List of 2024 Inductees Into National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame

UPDATE (Sept. 19): Frankie Beverly, who died on Sept. 10 at age 77, has been added to the previously announced list of 2024 inductees into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. This year’s ceremony will take place on Oct. 6 at the Marriott Cleveland East in Warrensville Heights, Ohio.

Maze featuring Frankie Beverly had nine top 10 hits on what is now known as Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart from 1978 to 1990, including two that reached No. 1 – “Back in Stride” and “Can’t Get Over You.” Beverly single-handedly wrote all nine of these songs. With Beverly added to the list of honorees, six of the 11 artists being honored this year have topped Billboard‘s flagship R&B chart.

Beyoncé recorded Maze’s 1981 hit “Before I Left Go” as a bonus track on her 2019 album Homecoming: The Live Album. Beverly told Billboard that the cover was “one of the high points of (his) life … in a class of its own” and made him “feel bigger than ever! I feel like I have a huge smash out there.”

Maze featuring Frankie Beverly was never even nominated for a Grammy, though the group did get its flowers at the BET Awards in 2012, when it received a lifetime achievement award. Other awards included the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award (2006), the NAACP Image Awards Lifetime Achievement Award (2024) and a TV One Urban One Honors Living Legend Award (2024).

PREVIOUSLY (Aug. 16): The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame has announced its 2024 class of inductees: Jeffrey Osborne, Kenny Lattimore, Candi Staton, Ginuwine, Regina Belle, Buddy Miles, William Bell, Terry Stewart, Rose Marie McCoy, Ken Hawkins, and the influential Boddie Recording Company.

Five of the 10 artists have topped Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (or its predecessors). Belle topped it twice, with “Baby Come to Me” (1989) and “Make It Like It Was” (1990). Ginuwine also topped it twice, with “Pony” (1996) and “Differences” (2001). Three other artists each topped it once: Staton with “Young Hearts Run Free” (1976), Bell with “Tryin’ to Love Two” (1977) and Osborne with “She’s on the Left” (1988).

Belle also topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993 with “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme),” a collab with Peabo Bryson.

Additionally, special honors will be bestowed upon Leo’s Casino alumni, including Aretha Franklin, Gene Chandler, Chuck Conway, Sr., Martha Reeves, Fred Wheatt, Freddie Arrington, The Temptations, and The O’Jays.

These individuals and groups will be honored at the 13th annual National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Oct. 6. The event will take place at the Marriott Cleveland East in Warrensville Heights, Ohio.

“This year’s remarkable group of inductees exemplifies the rich diversity and influence of R&B music,” LaMont Robinson, founder of the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement. “We are excited to return the ceremony to Metro Cleveland and celebrate the enduring legacy of Leo’s Casino, a vital part of the city’s music history from the 1960s.”

More than 300 R&B artists inducted since its National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame’s inception in 2013. The roster includes legends such as James Brown, Prince, B.B. King, New Edition, The O’Jays, The Temptations, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Jackie Wilson, and Whitney Houston.

Tickets for the event are $35 and $50. For ticket information and to learn more about the ceremony, visit WWW.RBHOF.COM.