Their music is perfect for long road trips.Last summer,I drove from Missisippi to Atlanta and I brought several of their CDs along with me:

'Joy And Pain' ("Southern Girl" just feels like summer!)
'Live In New Orleans'
'We Are One'


these ladies have the right idea! Check out what they're listening to

Not acknowledged by what mainstream.....pop? Hell, that's when artists usually fuck up is when the pop world gets into them. Any artist that never crossed over and strictly were played on R&B radio is alright with me (the ones before 1985 of course). Hell, I wish even Prince had never been played on pop radio.

"Sometimes,when you cross over,you can't cross back"---George Clinton

I've always LOVED Maze, though never realized they hadn't won any awards. But if they haven't, I bet it was probably due to some personal issue. I've always wondered why Cameo hasn't won more awards or been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. If artists like these aren't being recognized for their obvious talents, you know it must be personal.

vainandy said:

In this case, I wouldn't even say "pop". Hell, Maze never even got a Soul Train award or any other type of award that even acknowledged black music. Have they ever been on the NAACP awards?

SoulAlive said:

That's a good quote. Especially coming from George.

PDogz said:

Do you really think Cameo deserves a place in the RRHOF? They hadn't really had a major impact on pop culture. I don't recall people walking around in red cod pieces and screaming AWW!

If there is/was an R&B hall of fame, I would definitely say yes. They have written some of the most influential r&b songs of all time. Not to mention almost every r&b fan knows the words to "Why Have I Lost You".

But the "Soul Train" awards didn't come out until the late 80s. By then, R&B acts that weren't crossover acts practically didn't exist anymore. And the ones that didn't crossover were trying to crossover but just weren't successful in doing so. That's why I always said the late 80s was the beginning of the end. And the few times that I watched the "Soul Train" awards, I never saw anyone win an award that wasn't either a crossover act or a wannabe crossover act. I never saw groups like Con Funk Shun, Lakeside, etc. getting an award. It was always some dull ass solo singer that sang mostly slow songs. DAMN the late 80s were horrible.

daPrettyman said:

I've never understood the love that they get.
They don't move me one way or the other.

vainandy said:

You are so right. The ST awards did give real non-crossover people big awards. Miki Howard, Amerie (which she won on her first year out), and a few others I can't think of now all have Soul Train awards. The "legend" awards only went to Don's friends. So, you are right. Now, I know the ST awards did nominate the legends. If Maze has such a big following (as they do), I would think that BET or ST would acknowledge them at some point.

Graycap23 said:

See, I get your point. I like their music. I own all of their cds and dvds. I play them occasionally, but the music they make doesn't make me go crazy.

I have relatives that go crazy over Maze. We can't have any family get together without any Maze music (believe me, I've tried). My relatives tell me that I'm not really black because I don't go crazy over the music that they go crazy over. It's not that I don't like it, I just don't consider acts like Maze the be-all..end-all in music.

daPrettyman said:

I get the feeling some people go crazy over Maze because it is expected. I only give credit 2 the music that I LOVE. The rest,.....not so much.
I'd take the Ohio Players, Slave and a few others over Maze in a heart beat.

Graycap23 said:

You think it could be the musicianship? If you think about it, a lot of Maze's solos are sub-par compared to other acts like OP and Slave.

daPrettyman said:

I'm not sure. I just don't "feel" their music.

daPrettyman said:

Solo's from guitarists Ron Smith & Wayne Thomas ?...keyboardists Philip Woo & Wayne "Ziggy" Linsey ?...drummers Billy "Shoes" Johnson & Michael White ?... all below average compared to OP & Slave ?... i don't think so but to each their own.
All those Maze cats are exellent jazz-soloists as well. They've been hired for many sessions outside Maze.

daPrettyman said:

YES! Maze NEVER crossed over into the urban audience that well. It was usually a cult thing with Maze because they have a real old school feel to 'em, also a VERY laid-back approach. They didn't appeal to the black kids like Rick James and P-Funk and Cameo did. When Maze debuted, disco and funk dominated black radio and it was hard to really categorize Maze.

daPrettyman said:

They ain't ever gonna do it so don't look for it.

daPrettyman said:

True.Anytime you talk to a person who grew up listening
to pop music and you ask them about Cameo,the first and
generally only thing come out their mouth is Word Up and Candy.
I even had one guy tell me those were the only hits they had.
They will never be inducted into the RRHOF which is cool.
They are legendary without having to have that honor.

Just wanna add that there has been released a Maze-tribute project recently, so i guess there's some aknowledging

Shango said:

There you go.We have a winner.
Just because you don't have Soul Train Awards,AMA,a grammy
or some other crappy nomination doesn't mean you aren't
acknowledged by your peers or fans.
The Maze tribute album speaks for itself.

phunkdaddy said:

I think JET talked about this a while back talking about "yeah Maze never wins a mainstream award but fans show up in thousands just to see them" or something like that. They're like the R&B version of the Grateful Dead, lol
[Edited 10/16/09 10:53am]

Shango said:

Not really (if u think about it). Frankie's son pretty much BEGGED artists to do this tribute album. He then went to Tom Joyner and Steve Harvey to promote it. There are a few trax I keep hearing on the radio for it. Joe's "Can't Get Over You", Ledisi's song, and Kem's song. That's about it.

Shango said:

I'm not trying to discount their musicianship, but if you listen to recorded versions of their songs, their solos pale in compairson to their live performances. Live, they kicked ass. Compare the "Southern Girl" solo to the solo in "Slide" by Slave. There is not as much emotion (to me) in the Maze solos as it is the other counter parts.

Also, it may be an arrangement thing or a rawness that Maze doesn't have compared to their counter parts.

daPrettyman said:

That's sad that it took begging to get people to get down to this. It's like they're embarrassed to admit what's their favorite Maze song or something.

daPrettyman said:

You make it sound like that's not enough.

I don't recall EWF's tribute album getting
a lot of play either.

phunkdaddy said:

Not a lot of tribute albums get play anyway.

Mainstream success (or lack thereof) is hardly a badge of honor.

And the Grammy awards are only not awful because things like the AMA's exist.

Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, The Doors, Bob Marley, The Who, Led Zeppelin and Queen are just a tiny few of the artists who have never received a Grammy.

And there are many great artists that only received a Grammy decades outside their peak appeal so that the Grammy awards would appear knowledgeable and cool.

The RRHOF on the other hand I'm not sure is even being televised due to lack of interest from the mainstream. Last year they were on some channel that hardly anyone even receives.

phunkdaddy said:

It didn't, but Kirk Franklin's "September" was a gospel and r&b hit.

daPrettyman said:

I like Kirk Franklin but that was pure butchery
of a classic song.
[Edited 10/16/09 11:47am]

phunkdaddy said:

I agree.