Frankie Beverly, who with his band Maze gave the world an anthem that will forever be tied to cookouts and good times, died on Tuesday, his family announced.

A consistent hitmaker on the R&B charts for almost 50 years, he had announced just this year that he would be retiring.

Frankie Beverly — the soul singer from the R&B group Maze — has died. He was 77 years old. The Philadelphia native’s family confirmed the news in a public statement, which t