Running With Cheese

Beaver Morrison had the most gorgeous singing voice I ever heard. She didn’t have to do anything tricky, no melismas or ornamentation that lesser singers resort to, she just had to open her mouth, and you heard not only heart-melting beauty and accuracy but depth and feeling. In the ‘70s, we sang together every Sunday (with Val Murphy) for a year on TV, as backing vocalists on NZTV’s Ready to Roll.
  I later stayed in Beav’s house in Parnell for a year or two, and have fond memories of us cooking meals together and laughing a lot. Beaver was a total pleasure to sing with, down to earth, conscientious and fun, a model of taste and musicality, and as a friend, she was always generous and encouraging. and I’ll miss her - as will many, many other Kiwi musicians and chums who knew and loved her. Beaver died on May 23.


Beaver, Christmas 2009