Background
He was born Charlie Doyle, probably in Forrest City, Arkansas.
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Little Buddy Doyle
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During the 1930s, he performed regularly on Beale Street, in Memphis, Tennessee. lieutenant is generally accepted that Big Walter Horton made his first recording backing Doyle, on eight songs Doyle recorded in Memphis for Okeh Records and Vocalion Records in 1939. Doyle also recorded with the harmonica player Hammie Nixon around the same time.
Some of their recorded work remains unissued.
Most of what else is known about Doyle derives from the autobiography of David "Honeyboy" Edwards, who performed with him. Edwards met Doyle for the first time in Memphis in 1935.
At that time Doyle usually performed in Handy Park, in Memphis. He was still performing in Handy Park in 1943, when Edwards again came to Memphis.
In 1943, Edwards sometimes performed in Handy Park with Doyle, Big Walter Horton and the young Little Walter.
Edwards remembered Doyle clearly and described him as a charismatic figure. According to Edwards, Doyle was a red-eyed alcoholic who was drunk all the time and had two or three gold teeth. Number photos of Doyle are known.
He was most likely called Little Buddy Doyle because of his diminutive stature.
According to Edwards, Doyle ".. was a midget. His legs was so short that when he sat on the bench to play the guitar he couldn´t pat his feet.
He had to just bump against the seat, his feet would be that far off the ground. He´d get to playing the blues and just bump, bump, bump."
When Edwards met him in 1935, Doyle was married to Hedda, who was six feet tall.
According to Edwards, Hedda too was "a good guitar player in the key of G." She sometimes performed with Doyle.
Little else is known of Doyle"s life outside of his recorded work. His death seems to be undocumented.
