hypersongs

Little Feat

A Los Angeles band formed in 1969 around Lowell George and Bill Payne, mixing rock, blues, country, funk and New Orleans rhythm, best known for Dixie Chicken, Waiting for Columbus and George's song "Willin'".

Formation

Little Feat formed in Los Angeles in 1969 around Lowell George, who sang and played guitar, with the bassist Roy Estrada, the keyboardist Bill Payne and the drummer Richie Hayward. George and Estrada had both played with the Mothers of Invention; George joined in November 1968 as rhythm guitarist and left in May 1969. The name came from a remark by the Mothers' drummer Jimmy Carl Black about George's little feet.

Their debut, Little Feat, was recorded in August and September 1970 at United Western Recorders and the Record Plant in Los Angeles, produced by Russ Titelman, and released by Warner Bros. in January 1971. It was a commercial flop and a critical favorite, with five stars from AllMusic. Sailin' Shoes followed in February 1972, produced by Ted Templeman and recorded at Amigo, Sunset Sound and TTG, with the first Neon Park cover and another five stars from AllMusic.

The six-piece band

Estrada left in 1972, and Kenny Gradney (bass), Paul Barrere (guitar, vocals) and Sam Clayton (congas, percussion, vocals) joined. Dixie Chicken, produced by George and released on January 25, 1973, was their first album with the new lineup and drew on New Orleans music; it went gold, with guests including Bonnie Raitt and Bonnie Bramlett. Wikipedia places a first breakup in late 1973, after poor sales, with Payne briefly joining the Doobie Brothers and Hayward working with Ike Turner, though Dixie Chicken and Feats Don't Fail Me Now (August 9, 1974, produced by George and Van Dyke Parks, a US peak of 30, gold) overlap that date, so the exact timing is uncertain. They reformed in 1974.

Time Loves a Hero (April 15, 1977, produced by Ted Templeman) peaked at 34 in the US and 8 in the UK. Waiting for Columbus, a double live album released on February 10, 1978, was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on August 1 to 4, 1977, and at Lisner Auditorium in Washington on August 8 to 10, with Tower of Power horns and Mick Taylor guesting on one track; it reached 18 in the US and went platinum. Jimmy Page named them his favorite American band in a 1975 Rolling Stone interview.

After Lowell George

The band split in 1979 after recording Down on the Farm, and Lowell George died on June 29, 1979, aged 34, shortly after a show at Lisner Auditorium; his solo album Thanks I'll Eat It Here had come out that year. A benefit concert for his family was held at the Forum in Los Angeles on August 4, 1979. Jackson Browne called him the Orson Welles of rock and wrote "Of Missing Persons" in his memory.

Payne, Barrere, Clayton, Gradney and Hayward reformed in 1987 with Craig Fuller and Fred Tackett, making Let It Roll (1988); Shaun Murphy replaced Fuller in 1993. Richie Hayward died on August 12, 2010, and Paul Barrere on October 26, 2019. Scott Sharrard joined in 2019 and Tony Leone on drums in 2020. The band later released Sam's Place (2024) and Strike Up the Band (2025) and announced The Last Farewell Tour for 2026.

Albums

Songs

  • Willin' Sailin' Shoes · 1972

    Lowell George's song of a truck driver, recorded three ways by the band and covered by Linda Ronstadt, the Byrds and many others.

Sources

  1. Little Feat, Wikipedia
  2. Lowell George, Wikipedia
  3. Waiting for Columbus, Wikipedia
  4. Willin', Songfacts
  5. Time Loves a Hero: Remembering Lowell George, Rock and Roll Globe (2024-06-29)