Willie "Little Beaver" Hale

William Hale, 15 August 1945, Forest City, Arkansas, USA. Little Beaver, a singer and guitarist, made his mark on the tail-end of the soul era in the early 70s, with a typical southern-style body of work that included both blues and soul traditions. Little Beaver grew up in Arkansas but as a teenager moved to Florida. He recorded some local hits for various labels, with a Bobby Bland -style gospel-blues voice. He then joined Henry Stone’s TK complex of labels in 1971, and penned some hits for Betty Wright as well as playing on innumerable sessions. By the time Little Beaver first recorded on his own for TK’s Cat subsidiary in 1972, he had found his own voice and style and had a national hit with ‘Joey’ (number 48 R&B). His biggest hit was ‘Party Down’ (number 2 R&B) from 1974. His deep southern sound was not all that compatible with the emerging disco and funk trends and Beaver had his last chart record in 1976.

Discography

• Joey (Cat 1972)
• Black Rhapsody (Cat 1974)
• Party Down (Cat 1975)
• When Was The Last Time (Cat 1976)
• Beaver Fever (Cat 1980)
• Katie Pearl (Henry Stone Music,2006)-Singles of 70x