Original 1974 Black Rhapsody by Little Beaver LP Still in Shrinkwrap ONLY COPY

$

53

 Offered here is a scarce (only copy for sale worldwide) original 1974 copy of noted Blues singer/songwriter Willie George Hale AKA Little Beaver's LP entitled "Black Rhapsody" - Cat Records #602 in Stereo . 
Cover is in ORIGINAL SHRINKWRAP and record itself is in paper sleeve.
An unusual and uncommon classic in as-found condition from the collection of a noted New Orleans music writer and collector.
Shrinkwrap has protected album well save for small tear at right edge of front and rear covers - overall a nice original representation of  scarce work.
Should look truly sensational framed in your office, pub or home!
"Willie George Hale (born August 15, 1945), often known by the name Little Beaver, is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, who featured on many hit records since the 1960s. He initially recorded three singles for Frank Williams' local Saadia label and one released on Philadelphia's Phil L.A. of Soul in the late 1960s, all produced by Williams and featuring his Rocketeers band.

Hale launched his TK solo career on Cat in 1972 with "Joey", produced by TK's senior producer, Steve Alaimo. His biggest hit came in 1974 with “Party Down”, which made No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. He 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. Reviewing the album in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said: "The great T.K. guitarist (né Willie Hale) has a problem when he sings, which is that he can't. Ruined last year's blues album, but somehow it doesn't get in the way of this dance-groove item. The lyrics sound as if they were made up on the spot by somebody with a lot of common sense, and Beaver talks that talk as he goes about his work, which is seeing to the aforementioned groove."[3]

Hale's recording career effectively ended in the early 1980s, with his seemingly final album in 1980 and the closure of TK Records, due to bankruptcy, a year later. Hale was recruited by Betty Wright in 2003 to play on Joss Stone's albums The Soul Sessions and Mind Body & Soul, and he released a new album in 2008 on the Henry Stone Music label, which also issued re-workings of his Cat recordings and re-issues of his 1970s albums