| Before I Let Go | |
| Cover: | Maze - Before I Let Go single cover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Maze |
| Album: | Live in New Orleans |
| B-Side: | "Golden Time of the Day"[1] |
| Genre: |
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| Length: | (7" edit) (album version) |
| Label: | Capitol |
| Producer: | Frankie Beverly |
| Prev Title: | Running Away |
| Prev Year: | 1981 |
| Next Title: | We Need Love to Live |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
"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.[2] Written and produced by lead singer Frankie Beverly,[3] [4] the song peaked at #13 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1981.[5] The song has been noted for its enduring popularity in Black American culture as a staple of gatherings and parties.[6] [7]
Beyoncé covered the song for her 2019 film Homecoming, and it's the focus of a 2021 episode of Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris's New York Times podcast, Still Processing.[8]
Rapper K-Solo also sampled the song for his single “Your Mom's In My Business”.
According to Frankie Beverly, he had originally written the song as a ballad about his conflicted feelings when Delores Marie "D'Marie" Warren of Alton McClain and Destiny died in a car crash 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.[9]
| Before I Let Go | |
| Type: | song |
| Artist: | Beyoncé |
| Album: | Homecoming |
| Recorded: | 2018–2019 |
| Genre: |
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| Length: | 4:00 |
| Label: | Parkwood |
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."[10]
In 2023, Beyoncé performed the song during her "Renaissance World Tour".