When I was 11, I remember sitting in the den of my childhood home one night, patiently waiting for some Michael Jackson special to air on BET.  Finally, the time came for the special to come on, and I hurried and turned the TV to the channel.  Well, to my chagrin, the Michael Jackson special wasn’t on yet.  What was on BET at that moment was a Frankie Beverly and Maze concert, and it had obviously run over (that happened a lot back in the day).  I was pissed! 

The fellas were singing an extended version of the classic “Back in Stride,” and the longer the song went on, the madder I became.  I remember hollering, “I don’t care about these old men being back in style again!  Hurry up with Mike’s show!”  I never could get song lyrics right (still can’t, if I’m being real).  That was my introduction to Frankie Beverly and Maze.  Little did I realize at the time, I would come to love those “old men,” especially the front man.

I can’t remember when it happened, but over time, I heard more Maze feat. Frankie Beverly tracks, and I started to regret what I said that night in my family’s den.  The music these men made was phenomenal.  I’d like to say that the first song I heard that made me fall in love with Maze was “Before I Let Go.”  For all you youngins out there, Mr. Beverly made “Before I Let Go” long before Queen Beyoncé did (I love her version too, by the way). 

If it wasn’t that song, it had to be “Happy Feelin’s.”  Either way, I was hooked, and came to adore some of their other hits like “Golden Time of Day,” “Joy and Pain,” “We Are One” (that’s one of my favorites), “Silky Soul,” “Southern Girl” (another one of my favorites, for obvious reasons), and even “Back in Stride.”  Yes, I came to love “Back in Stride” and even learned the dang gum lyrics (well, the hook, at least)! 😂  Frankie Beverly went from being a thorn in my pre-teen side to creating part of the soundtrack of my life.

Unlike Frankie Beverly, I honestly can’t remember when I first saw James Earl Jones.  Like a good many of the celebrities that I do tributes for, he was just always there, like a mainstay in my life.  I just remember watching him as a little girl on movies such as Coming to America (the classic one from the ‘80s, not that hot garbage I reviewed a few years back), Soul Man, The Ambulance, Field of Dreams, The Great White Hope, The Sandlot, man, the list goes on and on.  Oh yeah, and we can’t forget the Star Wars franchise, of course.  Let’s face it; Star Wars wouldn’t be Star Wars if it wasn’t for Darth Vader, namely his voice.  I always loved him and that voice. 

James Earl Jones had a voice that was so doggone distinctive, and so rich and deep.  Not only that, it was regal, and commanded respect.  It’s no wonder that he was later casted to play kings.  My favorite films of his are Coming to America, and of course, The Lion King.  It’s almost as if Mr. Jones was born to play King Joffe Joffer and Mufasa.  I can’t see anyone else in those roles, especially Mufasa—at least not as older adult Mufasa.  I’m aware that the cute as hell Aaron Pierre is voicing young Mufasa in the upcoming film, Mufasa:  The Lion King, but since it’s young Mufasa, I can give it a slight pass.

I continued to enjoy Mr. Jones throughout the ‘90s, but by the time the 2000s rolled around, I didn’t really see him that often.  Around the 2010s or so, I saw Mr. Jones again as well as the great Mr. Malcolm McDowell in several Sprint commercials where they were reenacting text messages and phone calls between teenagers.  I was so glad to see James Earl Jones again, even if it was in a 30 second commercial.  Not only that, but the commercials were hilarious, especially the one where the men reenacted the conversation between two teenage girls.

The last two projects I saw Mr. Jones in were the live-action reboot of The Lion King, which I immensely enjoyed and the sequel Coming 2 America, which I thought was unadulterated garbage (not his fault, though; he simply used what he had to work with).  On a good note, he killed in The Lion King reboot.  However, I expected nothing less from a legend.

Last, but certainly not least, is Mr. Tito Jackson.  Throughout my childhood and teenage years, folks loved to clown Tito.  They’d make parodies about him, compare him to Michael—usually portraying him as the n’er do well sibling, whereas Mike was the successful and respected member of the family.

However, after Michael passed and the Jacksons had their short-lived reality show in 2009, I noticed something about Mr. Jackson.  He was the heart and soul of the family.  Tito had his father’s tough, no-nonsense work ethic, but he also had his mother’s loving heart.  Over the years, I would see Tito appear in interviews and other reality show clips and he’d always make me smile.

Let’s not forget, if it wasn’t for Mr. Jackson and his father, we wouldn’t have The Jackson 5.  Yes, Joe started the group, but what spearheaded one of the most legendary musical acts in history is the family patriarch realizing that young Tito was playing his guitar behind his back…and the poor boy accidentally broke the strings.  Unfortunately, Tito got the whuppin’ of his life for that offense, and as further punishment, Tito had to play the guitar for his father to see if he was just messin’ around with it whenever Joe wasn’t around, or if he could actually play the instrument.  Much to his father’s surprise—and joy—Tito proved he was a self-taught guitarist.  The years have shown us that Mr. Jackson can play a mean guitar.  After Tito showcased his skills to his father, Joe later learned that his other sons could sing and dance, and the rest was history.

Not only did Tito bring us The Jackson 5, he also blessed us with fine ass 3T.  For you American youngins that are unaware, 3T consists of Tito’s three sons:  Taj, Taryll, and TJ (you may recall hearing from Taj once or twice in the media, advocating for his Uncle Mike).  I loved them so much when I was a teenager (especially TJ!).  They blew up around ’95 and ’96, but by the time late ’96 rolled around, the buzz died down and the fellas went on to win hearts in Europe.  If I’m not mistaken, I do believe Tito managed the group, and he didn’t play with them either.

We lost some real ones over the course of these last few days.  I’ll miss these men dearly.

Howard Stanley Beverly aka Frankie Beverly:  December 6, 1946 – September 10, 2024

James Earl Jones:  January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024

Toriano Adaryll Jackson aka Tito Jackson:  October 15, 1953 – September 15, 2024  

—Written by Nadiya