Frankie Beverly (in hat) with the band Maze.

I want to deviate from my series, what you did not learn in Sunday School, to celebrate the life and music of the now-late Frankie Beverly, who has ascended to the ancestral realm. The deaths of James Earl Jones and Tito Jackson were a shock to the system in these past couple of weeks. Yet it is the death of Frankie Beverly that hits in a particularly difficult way to handle. Frankie Beverly and Maze were the epitome of iconic. The music of Frankie Beverly and Maze touched us in ways that lifted spirits and sent good vibes that would reverberate throughout the audience if you have ever seen them in concert. Just put on “Happy Feelings” by Frankie Beverly and Maze at a family gathering, especially at a cookout in the summertime, and watch how the mood immediately shifts as people start singing, flash broad smiles, and are ushered to get up and start dancing.

Frankie Beverly’s music is magical and even spiritual, and that is why I call this “the gospel according to Frankie Beverly.”

The word gospel is translated in Greek as “good news.” And I’m suggesting that Frankie Beverly was preaching good news in his music without being too preachy.

Let us not forget that Frankie was raised by parents who had him in church and singing from an early age.

Frankie would, like many entertainers, thank his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when winning awards, but unlike a lot of entertainers, Frankie gave thanks during his live shows. You could be certain that somewhere in the middle of the show, Frankie would break down in tears, giving thanks. That is why I believe his music has had and will continue to have a lasting, uplifting impact on us. In fact, Frankie Beverly and Maze had not made a new album of music in over 30 years but their songs still move us. There was something spiritually special about Frankie Beverly’s music.

Take, for instance, his song Golden Time of Day. The first verse describes a serene scene as the sun sets in the west and the golden glow of the sun bathes the horizon. At first, it would seem that Frankie is singing about a contemplative moment in the evening time when all the work is done, and one has time to rest and reflect. It is only when he sings the second verse that he reveals that the Golden time of day is the moment we discover who we are and why we are. It is about identity and purpose that Frankie sings in this song that only happens when we do what the Psalmist declares in Psalm 46:10, and that is to “be still and know that I am God.” Frankie’s lyrics remind me of Howard Thurman’s powerful meditation that says, “There is in every one of you something that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have, and if you are unable to hear it, you will spend all of your days at the ends of strings that someone else pulls. Listen for the genuine in you.” Frankie was passionately preaching to us about discovering who we are and why we are because “that’s the golden time of day.”

Take his perhaps most popular song, Joy and Pain. Frankie was sagaciously and sermonically in song, saying to us that life’s ups and downs are a part of life’s growing pains. His lyrics were touching our souls because of the reality that many of the pains we experience in life comes from those we love so much. Yet his magnificent message is that we cannot truly appreciate the joys until we have experienced the pain because “joy and pain are like sunshine and rain.” Both are necessary for beautiful flowers to grow and both are necessary for our souls to blossom. Jesus said it like this, “In me, you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but be encouraged because I have overcome the world,” that sounds like “Joy and pain are like sunshine and rain” to me.

Then there is Frankie’s favorite topic, Love. In an interview many years ago with Roland Martin, Roland asked Frankie how he would like to be remembered. Frankie responded by saying, “I want to be remembered for how I loved. I want to be remembered for Love.”

And so, his song Love is the key lifted up the central message of the Bible and especially the New Testament. Jesus’ favorite topic was also love. Jesus said in the gospel of John “Love one another as I have Loved you. By this all people will know that you are my disciples,” that sounds like “love is the key” to me.

In fact, the topic of Love comes up in so many of Frankie’s songs. In happy feelings, he sings, “I’ve got myself to remind me of love. My mind and my heart, I believe in above.” That phrase in the lyrics that said, “I believe in above…” I believe is Frankie’ way of pointing us to the greatest love of all, God.

And finally, there is his song “I wanna thank you.” If you listen and read the lyrics carefully, it is clear to me that Frankie is singing to God. He says, “You are my sunshine. You brighten up my life. I know that I’m not right sometimes, Oh I love you so…” Frankie, of course, is not the only musician, songwriter, and singer who brought together the sacred and secular in serene synergy, but Frankie was one of the best to ever do it.

I celebrate this troubadour of life’s tender truths, this instrument of inspiration and joy, and this passionate psalmist of peace and praise.

Rest in power, Frankie Beverly, and may your soul advocate for us from the ancestral realm. Uhuru Sass!

Rev. Dr. John E. Jackson, Sr. is the Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ-Gary, 1276 W. 20th Ave. in Gary. “We are not just another church but we are a culturally conscious, Christ-centered church, committed to the community; we are unashamedly Black and unapologetically Christian.” Contact the church by email at [email protected] or by phone at 219-944-0500.