Before I Let Go#Beyoncé version
{{short description|1981 single by Maze}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Before I Let Go
| cover = Maze - Before I Let Go single cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Maze
| album = Live in New Orleans
| B-side = "Golden Time of the Day"{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Maze-Featuring-Frankie-Beverly-Before-I-Let-Go-Golden-Time-Of-The-Day/master/336556|title=Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly – Before I Let Go / Golden Time Of The Day at Discogs|work=Discogs|date=1981 |publisher=Zink Media|access-date=April 15, 2015}}
| released = {{start date|1981}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = * R&B
| length = {{duration|m=3|s=42}} (7" edit)
{{duration|m=5|s=07}} (album version)
| label = Capitol
| writer = Frankie Beverly
| prev_title = Running Away
| prev_year = 1981
| next_title = We Need Love to Live
| next_year = 1982
| misc =
}}
"Before I Let Go" is a song performed by American R&B band Maze, issued as the second single from the band's fifth album and first live album Live in New Orleans. Although Live in New Orleans is a live album, "Before I Let Go" appears on the album as a studio recording.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/drnv|title=BBC – Music – Review of Maze featuring Frankie Beverly – Live In New Orleans|work=BBC Music|publisher=BBC|last=Easlea|first=Daryl|date=2012|access-date=April 15, 2015}} Written and produced by lead singer Frankie Beverly,{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/before-i-let-go-mt0026931906|title=Before I Let Go – Frankie Beverly, Maze {{!}} Listen, Appearances, Song Review {{!}} AllMusic|work=AllMusic|publisher=All Media Network|access-date=April 15, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Maze-Featuring-Frankie-Beverly-Before-I-Let-Go-Golden-Time-Of-The-Day/release/3897536|title=Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly – Before I Let Go / Golden Time Of The Day (Vinyl) at Discogs|work=Discogs|date=1981 |publisher=Zink Media|access-date=April 15, 2015}} the song peaked at #13 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1981.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/maze-mn0000401114/awards|title=Maze {{!}} Awards {{!}} AllMusic|work=AllMusic|publisher=All Media Network|access-date=April 15, 2015}} The song has been noted for its enduring popularity in Black American culture as a staple of gatherings and parties.{{cite magazine|first1=Jon|last1=Blistein|access-date=November 10, 2024|title=Frankie Beverly, Soul Legend With Maze Who Delivered Indelible Hit 'Before I Let Go,' Dead at 77|magazine=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/frankie-beverly-maze-before-i-let-go-dead-obit-1235099847/|date=September 11, 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Garcia |first1=Sandra E. |title='Before I Let Go' and 5 More Essential Frankie Beverly and Maze Songs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/11/arts/music/frankie-beverly-maze-songs-before-i-let-go.html |access-date=November 10, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=September 11, 2024}}
Beyoncé covered the song for her 2019 film Homecoming, and it is the focus of a 2021 episode of Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris's New York Times podcast, Still Processing.{{cite web |title=Before I Let Go |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/podcasts/still-processing-before-I-let-go-frankie-beverly-maze.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=May 23, 2021 |date=May 20, 2021}}
Production
According to Frankie Beverly, he had originally written the song as a ballad about his conflicted feelings for Delores Marie "D'Marie" Warren of Alton McClain and Destiny, who tragically died in a car crash in 1985, while he was in love with her but in a relationship with another woman. After the rest of the band was introduced to it by Beverly, they changed the sound to be more uptempo as they rehearsed.{{cite web|access-date=November 10, 2024|title=Black Music Month: The Oral History Of Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly's 'Before I Let Go'|url=https://www.essence.com/entertainment/black-music-month-oral-history-maze-featuring-frankie-beverly-before-i-let-go/|date=October 26, 2020|website=Essence}}
Chart positions
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (1981–2016)
!Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"|US R&B Singles (Billboard)
|align="center"|13 |
Beyoncé version
{{Infobox song
| name = Before I Let Go
| cover =
| alt =
| type = song
| artist = Beyoncé
| album = Homecoming
| released = {{Start date|2019|04|17}}
| recorded = 2018–2019
| studio =
| genre = *R&B
| length = 4:00
| label = Parkwood
| writer = {{hlist|Frankie Beverly|Larry Blackmon|Tomi Jenkins|Beyoncé|Jerome Temple}}
| producer = {{hlist|Frankie Beverly|Tay Keith|Beyoncé}}
| misc =
}}
Beyoncé covered the song for her 2019 film Homecoming, and included the cover on the accompanying live album. It also includes a sample of New Orleans bounce artist, DJ Jubilee, one of the pioneers of bounce music, recorded on Take Fo' Records. An interpolation of "Candy" by Cameo also runs throughout the song.
Beverly told Billboard that the cover was "one of the high points of (his) life... in a class of its own" and made him "feel bigger than ever! I feel like I have a huge smash out there."{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8508606/frankie-beverly-beyonce-homecoming|title = Frankie Beverly Responds to Beyonce Covering His Maze Hit 'Before I Let Go'|magazine = Billboard|date = April 24, 2019}}
=Live performances=
Beyoncé performed the song during her Renaissance World Tour and Cowboy Carter Tour. During the latter, a video performance of Maze is featured side by side with Beyoncé's as a tribute to Beverly, who passed away in September 2024.
=Chart positions=
==Weekly charts==
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| Chart (2019)
! Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Flanders Tip|9|artist=Beyoncé|song=Before I Let Go|rowheader=true|access-date=May 17, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Ireland3|71|artist=Beyoncé|rowheader=true|access-date=May 4, 2019}} |
| scope="row"| Lithuania (AGATA){{cite web|url=https://www.agata.lt/lt/naujienos/savaites-klausomiausi-w16-2/|title=Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)|language=lt|publisher=AGATA|date=April 26, 2019|access-date=December 3, 2019}}
| 47 |
| {{single chart|Slovakdigital2|90|year=2019|week=17|rowheader=true|access-date=April 30, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Sweden|73|artist=Beyoncé|song=Before I Let Go|rowheader=true|access-date=May 4, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|UK|77|date=20190426|rowheader=true|access-date=April 27, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|65|artist=Beyonce|rowheader=true|access-date=May 7, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|24|artist=Beyonce|rowheader=true|access-date=May 1, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphopairplay|5|artist=Beyoncé|rowheader=true|access-date=May 12, 2022}} |
==Year-end charts==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2019)
! scope="col"| Position |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2019/hot-r-and-and-b-hip-hop-songs|title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2019|magazine=Billboard|date=January 2, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2019}}
| 69 |
= Certifications =
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|certyear=2023|relyear=2019|artist=Beyoncé|title=Before I Let Go|award=Gold|type=single|access-date=January 4, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Beyonce|title=Before I Let Go (Homecoming Live)|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2019|certyear=2024|source=radioscope|access-date=December 15, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Beyonce|title=Before I Let Go (Homecoming Live)|award=Platinum|relyear=2019|certyear=2022|access-date=August 8, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{AllMusic|song|id=mt0026931906|label="Before I Let Go"}}
- {{Discogs master|type=single|336556}}
{{Maze}}
{{Beyoncé singles|state=collapsed}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Song recordings produced by Frankie Beverly