Frankie Beverly never had a Pop Top 40 hit. Never had a Pop Top 20 album. Yet all of his 10 albums went Gold. He was the definition of a R&B superstar, with no crossover aooeal. That doesn't mean his songs weren't known. Thanks to sampling "Joy and Pain" was recognized. Beyonce, in 2019, covered "Before I Let You Go", giving it a much bigger platform than ever before. And the albums! For a period there in the 70's/80's he was as solid an album maker as there could be. We should also consider this: Beverly's last album was released in 1993! Surely this was a man running on his own timetable.
So, I want to shout out Frankie Beverly. An enigma, to me at least, in R&B music. But he had just the right amount of hits to keep touring forever. Back In Stride, Silky Soul, Before I Let Go, Happy Feelin's, Golden Time of Day, etc. These are songs known outside of the Pop world. Which for me meant they were well known. Beverly never got his just rewards while he was alive. I don't know if he was okay with that or not. The least we can do is explore his back catalog now.