Golden Time of Day: Golden Milk Cookie for Frankie Beverly (half-dozen)

Non African-American friends, Frankie Beverly was, without a doubt, the most famous Black person you’ve likely never heard of.  This is not an exaggeration. His music was the soundtrack of “the cookout.” Yet, if you know any of his songs, it's probably because Beyoncé covered his breakup song turned line dancing standard. Born Howard Stanley Beverly, he took the name Frankie as a young performer who was enamored with Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. Maze, the band with which he became Black family gathering evergreen, began in Philadelphia but found fame while living and working in San Francisco. I (Dee) happen to be a special kind of Frankie Beverly acolyte - A New Orleanian. Frankie and the band recorded their Live in New Orleans album about four months before my parents got married. By the time I was born two years later, Maze had been fully adopted by my hometown. Essence Music Festival goers knew him as the only acceptable closer of the festival. But they still may not hav