A prodigious guitarist at an early age, Willie George Hale earned the nickname "Little Beaver" from friends in family in Arkansas, remarking on his prominent teeth. Over the years Hale would make a name for himself as a reliable session guitarist, appearing on recordings by Betty Wright, Al Kooper, and Blowfly, and gradually developing his own distinct, rhythmic style of blues guitar playing. As the mid-70s approached Hale would embark on his own solo career, cutting albums and singles with Florida's TK Records, working alongside famed musicians like Jaco Pastorius, Benny Latimore, and Timmy Thomas. His career effectively ended in the 1980s with TK's collapse, but he would find new life in 2003 after performing on several Joss Stone albums, and his works would be sampled in hip-hop tunes by the likes of Jay-Z, Slum Village, and People Under The Stairs. Not long after his solo debut in 1972, Hale released the sophomore album Black Rhapsody, which did away with the vocals so Hale could put his own blues guitar chops at the front. Black Rhapsody featured a slew of original deep funk jams from Hale, as well as his own soulful spins on songs by Al Green, The Temptations, The Jackson 5, and even George Gershwin. A rare gem of 70s funk, famously featuring the track "A Tribute To Wes", which beatsmith J Dilla would sample to great effect on the Slum Village track "Conant Gardens."
