Willie Hale

Who is Willie Hale?

Willie George Hale, often known by the name Little Beaver, is an American R&B guitarist, singer and songwriter featured on many hit records since the 1960s.

Hale was born in Forrest City, Arkansas, and acquired the nickname "Little Beaver" as a child because of his prominent teeth. He became a virtuoso guitarist at an early age. In the early 1960s he moved to Florida, and in 1969 was signed by songwriter and producer Willie Clarke to the Cat label, an offshoot of Henry Stone’s TK Records.

As a session musician, his characteristic guitar sound was soon heard on many hit TK recordings, including Betty Wright’s “Clean Up Woman”..

In 1972 he launched a solo career with the single “Joey”. His biggest solo hit came in 1974 with “Party Down”, which made # 2 on the US R&B chart. He also released five albums as Little Beaver in the 1970s, a mixture of blues, soul and funk. However, he lost out commercially at the height of the disco boom. Many of his records featured other key Florida R&B musicians including Wright, pianist Benny Latimore, and organist Timmy Thomas. His 1974 album Party Down also featured, on one track, bassist Jaco Pastorius, credited as Nelson "Jocko" Padron.