Little Feat? Who are they?
The original "Little Feat" band was the brainchild of a great guitarist named Lowell George. Around 1969 Lowell was playing guitar with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. The story goes that Lowell had written a few songs and had played them for Frank as potential new material. Frank fired him on the spot. Apparently Frank's thinking was that if Lowell could write such great songs he didn't belong as a sideman in his musical project. And so Little Feat was born.
If you believe that you don't know any Little Feat music, the chances are reasonably good that you are mistaken. It seems that everyone knows the "Dallas Alice" line from "Willin'", or has heard "Texas Twister" or "Let It Roll". Their rich musical history includes such early well-known favourites as "Don't Bogart That Joint" from the original "Easy Rider" movie and "Framed" from the Cheech and Chong outings. Don't be too quick to pidgeonhole the music based on just these titles. Little Feat are, at the very least, a southern-fried Texas cajun funk-rock-blues jam band, and then some. They defy any stereotype.
Taking their name from quips about Lowell's rather small feat, the earliest lineup included Roy Estrada on bass (who departed for Captain Beefheart). Afterwards Kenny Gradney stepped into the bassist spot, along with Paul Barrere (guitar) and original members Bill Payne (keyboards) and Ritchie Hayward (drums). Sadly Lowell George passed away in 1979 leading to further inevitable lineup changes. Vocalist Craig Fuller took center stage and was featured on several albums but found the rigours of the road difficult and left the band. The current lineup features Fred Tackett (guitar), Shaun Murphy (vocals) and Sam Clayton (percussion) along with Bill, Kenny, Paul and Ritchie. They're still "Kickin' It At The Barn" today!
The list of recordings produced by these prolific musicians is rather extensive. The early recordings included the self-titled Little Feat (1971) and Sailin' Shoes (1972). After a few personnel changes came Dixie Chicken (1973), Feats Don't Fail Me Now (1974), The Last Record Album (1975), Time Loves a Hero (1977), Waiting For Columbus (1978), Down on the Farm (1979) and Hoy Hoy (1981). It was difficult after Lowell's untimely departure, but a stable linup was formed and the band began recording again. Later releases included Let It Roll (1988), Representing the Mambo (1990), Shake Me Up (1991), Ain't Had Enough Fun (1995), Live From Neon Park (1996), Under the Radar (1998), Chinese Work Songs (2000), Kickin' It At The Barn (2003) and numerous live recordings including the latest DVD release.
As musicians, you may have heard Little Feat members on well-known albums from The Doobie Brothers, Robert Palmer, Poco, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Melissa Manchester, Maria Muldaur, Eric Clapton, Warren Zevon, Jimmy Buffet, Delaney and Bonnie, Peter Frampton, Buddy Guy, Nils Lofgren, Stevie Nicks, Bob Seger, Meatloaf, Carly Simon, Tom Waits, Alice Cooper and Toto to name just a few.
Please visit Little Feat's web page at www.littlefeat.net for more information.
Feat First? Who are they?
We are a group of musicians who collectively enjoy the challenge of playing the great music of Little Feat. We're based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
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