If asked what connects Linda Ronstadt and Jimmy Page, music followers of a certain age would no doubt state, with good reason, they were both towering figures of 70s rock.
There is also another, perhaps lesser known, link between the seminal guitarist of that decade and its most distinctive vocalist – namely, they each had no hesitation in naming Little Feat as their favourite rock group.
Compared to other bands who emerged from Los Angeles in the early-70s, Little Feat sold comparatively few records, fell well short of the Top Ten, be it with singles or albums, never came within a country mile of a Grammy or Music Award ceremony – and to the eternal shame of those who preside over such matters, are conspicuously absent from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
But for nine years up to the untimely death of their slide-guitar maestro and songwriter extraordinaire Lowell George in 1979, musicians from Ronstadt and Page downward, rock critics and a devoted following found it impossible to be discrete about Little Feat.
For those in the know they were the last word in funky, eclectic, soulful rock – their rich fusion of blues, country, boogie and jazz setting them apart from any other band of the time.
Ultimately, throwing so many influences into the mix in creating such a glorious, yet unique sound, gave Little Feat their biggest problem, as record label Warner Bros found them difficult to promote, no category existing to describe how they sounded. With hindsight it could be termed ‘roots Americana‘ – although fifty years later it is still impossible to find a phrase that truly captures their essence.
Formed in early 1970 by George and bass player Roy Estrada after they had both been fired by Frank Zappa from the ‘Mothers of Invention‘ (George having played on the albums ‘Burnt Weeny Sandwich‘ and ‘Weasels Ripped My Flesh,’), they recruited keyboard virtuoso Bill Payne and drummer Richie Hayward, he and George having once been members of an L.A. band named The Factory.
Thus constituted, they began cutting a debut album, ‘LITTLE FEAT‘ appearing in January 1971. Of the eleven tracks, George quickly emerges as the chief creative force, receiving a songwriting credit on eight songs (four of which were in conjunction with Payne).
Released into a marketplace where excesses of the psychedelic era had been replaced to a large extent by a more stripped back approach, pioneered as the 60s came to a close in albums by The Byrds and Bob Dylan (but best personified by The Band and Creedence Clearwater Revival), it was an energetic opening – landing somewhere between what The Band had done and the Rolling Stones were about to do.
Producer Russ Titelman joined the troupe in contributing additional keyboards – other guests were Ry Cooder (gtr) and Flying Burrito Brother Sneaky Pete Kleinow (pedal steel) – on a record that boasts several notable tracks, primarily a first version of the truck drivers anthem ‘Willin,’ a song every bar band of the era had to know.
It contained a number of what would become core Little Feat elements, including the first instances of George penning humerous, occasionally surreal lyrics shot through with cinematic detail. But nothing sounded like an obvious single, the negligible sales slightly offset by a positive reception.
After falling out with Titelman over production and Warner Bros due to a perceived lack of promotion (the first of many such disputes) they turned to Ted Templeman when it came to the superb ‘SAILIN’ SHOES‘ (May 1972).
With George compositions again to the fore, the record opens with the straight off the bat excellence of ‘Easy To Slip‘, ‘Cold Cold Cold‘ and ‘Trouble.’ The opener was their most accessible track yet, a song whose country-rock nuances make it sound a surefire big hit, but whose success was measured by plaudits rather than chart-placing.
Along with the superb title track and smart reworking of ‘Willin‘ it is still hard to fathom how music this deft and inventive could not be commercially successful. The brilliantly conceived cover artwork by Neon Parks only added to a breath-taking package that prompted yet more critical acclaim – only to go ignored in the marketplace.
At a time when records by the Eagles and Poco sounded interchangeable, there was no mistaking how different George and his crew were – and if anything, judging by the recent evidence of ‘Sticky Fingers‘ and ‘Exile on Main Street‘, the Rolling Stones were beginning to sound like Little Feat.
Disheartened by their lack of traction with record buyers, Estarada quit to join Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band soon afterward and for a while the Feats teetered on the brink of collapse – only to expand their horizons (and membership) with newcomers Paul Barrere (guitar) and Sam Clayton (percussion), the intake completed by Kenny Gradney (bass).
Hence Little Feat were now multi-racial, multi-cultural. With the new members came fresh impetus and influences, the stew given a further stir when Bonnie Raitt and Bonnie Bramlett were asked to provide background vocals at the sessions that yielded ‘DIXIE CHICKEN‘ (January 1973).
With a propulsive conga beat and influx of New Orleans R&B to work with, George now had the tools to present his true intentions for Little Feat and in going a step further by adding a horn section, they go across the page with rhythms and grooves that approximate a blend of samba and funk.
While the uproarious title cut became their signature song, the wistful ‘Roll Um Easy,’ was no less enthralling, the influence of Lowell George the singer, evident in subsequent work by Jackson Browne, the Eagles and James Taylor.
Needless to say reviews were ecstatic, but a distinct lack of commercial impact hampered things to such an extent the group fractured into a sought-after collection of session men, various Feats spending the next twelve months working for (among others) John Cale, The Doobie Brothers, Van Dyke Parks, Bonnie Raitt and Robert Palmer.
(In 1976 George and Payne can be found with Jackson Browne on his brilliant ‘The Pretender‘ album, George laying down a breathtaking slide solo on ‘Your Bright Baby Blues‘).
Unable to rouse any interest from Warner Bros, to all intents and purposes Little Feat had ceased to exist, the story ending there had road manager Bob Cavallo not found a recording studio in Baltimore cheap enough to support a fourth album – the exceptional ‘FEATS DON’T FAIL ME NOW‘ (August 1974).
Continuing in the producer role, George records them with more cohesion than he did on ‘Dixie Chicken‘ the group bursting with authenticity and intent.
Their confidence in the material is well founded as George, supported increasingly by Payne (‘Oh Atlanta‘) and Barrere (‘Skin It Back‘) conjure an absorbing set of tracks – the case for George being a writer of rare originality made by an uplifting title track, the hypnotic ‘Spanish Moon,’ (produced by Van Dyke Parks) and gloriously funky ‘Rock and Roll Doctor.’
Such was the aplomb, side two opener ‘Feats Don’t Fail Me Now,’ bubbles with so much exuberance it has the magnetic quality of pulling people to their feet (no pun intended). No other rock song reminds this listener of being a teenager in quite the same way and even hearing it now comes with a sense that any moment my mum will shout ‘Neil, will you turn that down,’ from the next room.
UK rock critics, led by renowned BBC DJ John Peel, went into raptures about performances on a 1975 British tour, when they completely upstaged headline act The Doobie Brothers. Little Feat were next seen in Britain during the summer of 1976, when given a support slot to The Who at three football stadium performances – and in the meantime had released the curiously titled ‘THE LAST RECORD ALBUM‘ (October 1975).
By strange irony it became their biggest seller to date, but lacked the overall accomplishment of previous efforts. Aside from two outstanding George compositions, ‘Mercenary Territory‘ and the utterly sublime ‘Long Distance Love‘ – which any listener to Peel’s late night show soon discovered he was enamoured with and the stand out Barrere/Payne cut ‘All That You Dream‘ (covered majestically by Ronstadt a couple of years later), it came over as somewhat hesitant.
George still maintained production control, but in becoming the principal source of songs Barrere and Payne were nudging the band toward jazz-rock territory – the schism between them and George even more evident on ‘TIME LOVES A HERO‘ (April 1977).
Due to a growing dependency on drugs and alcohol, the leader retreats further from the Little Feat front line with Warner Bros stalwart Ted Templeman called in to produce.
George contributes just one song (admittedly a very good one in ‘Rocket In My Pocket‘) but elsewhere the band have moved closer to Spyro Gyra than the Stones. Barrere writes a decent George-assimilation with ‘Old Folks Boogie,’ yet credits for the instrumental ‘Day at The Dog Races‘ are revealing – George the only band member not to be listed.
Sensing the group were coming to an end, Warner Bros threw their weight behind a Little Feat live album, performances in London and Washington, with the Tower of Power Horn Section in tow, recorded for the double-set ‘WAITING FOR COLUMBUS‘ (February 1978).
Given their reputation for sensational concerts, the band are captured in typically exuberant form, ‘Columbus‘ soon in the pantheon of truly great live albums – and as representation of a Little Feat show it reveals them to be the most classy, dexterous band around.
Despite encouraging sales, (‘Waiting For Columbus‘ would eventually go platinum), relationships within the group, along with George’s health, continued to deteriorate. Recording of a new studio album was abandoned due to a series of disagreements, latter day accounts suggesting George only consented to complete the project if Warner Bros agreed to finance his solo album and tour.
Despite a host of famous guests and almost every ‘name’ LA session player dropping in to help, ‘THANK’S, I’LL EAT IT HERE‘ (March 1979) is a hugely disappointing affair. George sounds increasingly like an artist whose creative well has run dry, with only the exquisite ‘Twenty Million Things‘ offering a hint of his former effervescence.
Undeterred by nominal sales and critical indifference, in the summer of 1979 George headed out on his first solo tour. But on June 29 after a show the previous evening in Washington – by sad irony at the same venue where much of ‘Waiting For Columbus‘ had been recorded – Lowell George died of a heart attack in an Arlington hotel room, from an accidental cocaine overdose. He was thirty four.
Following his death the remaining Little Feat members managed to finish what became ‘DOWN ON THE FARM‘ (November 1979). Despite some pleasing moments it was hard to dispel the notion of this being an after-thought – and at worst a pale echo of everything that had made Little Feat so engrossing to begin with.
After being apart for much of the 80s, Little Feat returned in 1987 with Craig Fuller (guitar/vcls) and noted session player Fred Tackett (guitar) – whose ‘Fool Yourself‘ had appeared on ‘Dixie Chicken‘. On the back of ‘Hate to Lose Your Lovin‘ becoming a major hit single, the ‘Let It Roll‘ album became the biggest-selling new release of their career and provided the impetus for a second chapter to the story.
In various guises Little Feat have continued ever since and remained a top-notch live proposition. Payne, Gradney, Clayton and Tackett, along with a more recently recruited drummer and guitarist, will be on the road to mark the 50th anniversary, although sadly Hayward (d.2010) and Barrere (d.2019), did not live long enough to commemorate the milestone.
It is, however, the Lowell George era for which they are most fondly remembered – a time when Little Feat were impossible not to love, taken to heart by those ranging from the rock star elite to a youth in rural England.
In 1980 Jackson Browne included the moving ‘Of Missing Persons,’ an eulogy for George, on his ‘Hold Out‘ album – although you cannot help but think Lowell inadvertently wrote his own epitaph in those fabulous lines from ‘Rock and Roll Doctor‘ (the only song with ‘rock and roll‘ in the title John Peel would play):
‘Two degrees in be-bop, a PHD in swing, he’s the master of rhythm, he’s a rock and roll king.’
As for the sassy, exotic, eccentric band he led, between the time George died and Little Feat reappeared, Bonnie Raitt said:
‘I miss Little Feat like I miss being five years old.’
Not for the first time we say, ‘Bravo Bonnie.’
LITTLE FEAT Discography 1970-1979:
LITTLE FEAT (1971) B+; SAILIN’ SHOES (1972) A; DIXIE CHICKEN (1973) A; FEATS DON’T FAIL ME NOW (1974) A; THE LAST RECORD ALBUM (1975) B+; TIME LOVES A HERO (1977) B; WAITING FOR COLUMBUS (1978) A; DOWN ON THE FARM (1979) B-
LOWELL GEORGE
THANKS I’LL EAT IT HERE (1979) B-;
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.
