Jimmy Briscoe & The Little Beavers
Jimmy Briscoe & The Little Beavers, later known as Jimmy Briscoe & the Beavers, was a 1970s singing group.
In the 1970s, when The Jackson 5's popularity gave rise to many other teenage groups, five young men from Baltimore, Maryland were discovered at a talent show in Baltimore by music promoter Paul Kyser. They recorded a number of singles, starting with Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", backed with "Sugar Brown", in 1971 on Atlantic Records[1][2] and then for the Pi Kappa label distributed by Buddah Records as one of its subsidiary/affiliated labels.[1] Their album My Ebony Princess, released by Pi Kappa in 1974, was reviewed as a "top album pick" by Billboard magazine;[3] the title cut gave them their greatest success. The group's vocal harmony set them apart from the other groups, though lack of distribution left them relatively unknown to the public. Other releases included "Where Were You (When I Needed You)", "I Only Feel This Way When I'm With You", "I'll Care For You", and "So Sweet The Love".
The group's original lineup was Jimmy Briscoe, Stanford Stansbury, Kevin Barnes, Maurice Pulley, and Robert Makins. Bobby Finch replaced Makins in 1977 and the group dropped the "Little" from its name. After attempting to change their style with several disco-oriented releases on a number of other labels and finding only minor success, the group disbanded.[1]
References
- Jimmy Briscoe and the Little Beavers: Biography" at Allmusic.
- "Jimmy Briscoe and The Little Beavers Keep Moving Up!", Baltimore Afro-American, July 25, 1972.
- "Top Album Picks", Billboard, December 14, 1974.