SONG OF THE DAY Little Beaver & the Rocketeers – Do Right Man

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Hailing from Forest City, Arkansas, Willie George Hale was born in August 1945.  Better known as Little Beaver, this title was a nickname he acquired as a child because of his prominent teeth!  A name he took with him right into adulthood and an alias he was also known as when he became a recording artist in the late 1960’s.

By 15 he was already a a virtuoso guitarist and by the late 60’s he was signed to a record label, writing and singing all of his own compositions.  In the early days he recorded for the family run label, Saadia Records (a rare, local, independent funk label named after one of owner Frank Williams’ twin daughters) and by the early 70’s he was signed to Florida’s Cat Records.

Today’s juicy slice of heavy soul was first released in 1968 on the Saadia label, but has since featured on Numero Group’s “Eccentric Soul: The Saadia Label” compilation (worth checking out) as well as being sampled by hip-hop artists in recent years. So inspired by Little Beaver’s rhythmic style, guitarist Leo Keotte paid homage to his musical influence in his instrumental track, Little Beaver…..and should you ever be lucky enough to stumble upon an original copy of this groove laden gem, expect to fetch in the realms of £200!!