Matt LuceyHistory of the Band Little Feat
The band Little Feat formed in the year 1969 in California by vocalist and guitarist Lowell George. They originally also consisted of bassist Roy Estrada (both of whom formerly played with Frank Zappa in the Mothers of Invention). Also involved were keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward. They were a classic rock band who were largely primarily active from 72. By this time, Kenny Gradney had joined as guitarist. Paul Barrere had also joined as vocalist and Sam Clayton had joined as percussionist.
While there are many rumours around Little Feats creation, one of the most popular was that George, having shown then band leader of the Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa a song he had written, was kicked out of the band, owing to the fact that the song was too good for Lowell not to be the creative force in his own band. In any case, clearly the band maintained friendship with Zappa. Zappa assisted them in getting their first record deal with Warner Brothers Records. Ry Cooder assisted in the recording, given an injury to the hand of George.
Other Albums and tenuous dynamics
Since their debut album, Little Feat enjoyed many successful years of songwriting and touring. Coming out with a number of notable songs and albums, the pinnacle of which, to me, was the album Feats Don’t Fail Me Now. While it may not be their crowning achievement in sales, was definitely their musical peak. Unfortunately, in the late 70s, Georges health began to wane, and following his death, Little Feats future became unclear. They disbanded in 1979. George, before he passed, alleged that the cause of the bands failure towards the end was a result of the free reign and democratic approach to creativity. This lead to an imbalance of influence to talent. The Group that couldn’t realistically agree on a unified musical direction to take the band.
Following their Split
Following was almost a decade of various solo careers. Little Feat reformed in 1987 with a mix of original members and new faces. The group was now composed of Barrere, Clayton, Gradney, Hayward and Payne. Added was songwriter / vocalist / guitarist Craig Fuller. They played on and off, doing a combination of old material while also releasing 3 new albums. None of these saw the success of the original run. In 1993, the band broke up again, only to form and disband once more within the next few years. Bill Payne, the only surviving member of the band’s original line-up, is currently involved in today’s iteration of the band. They recently released their new single, Too High to Cut My Hair. This isleading up to the release of their new album Strike Up The Band.
New Release – Too High to Cut My Hair
Having been a fan of the original band, I was very interested to see how this new single would hold up to the original. I was very pleasantly surprised to listen to this and hear many of the old bands’ notes throughout. This is a classic, groovy song with strong vocals, a funky bass and rhythm section and a brass wind element that compliments the song nicely. While this is somewhat of a Theseus’s band situation, it seems as though the spirit of the original band remains. The guitar work is tasteful and I wouldn’t have questioned it were you to show me this song and tell me it was recorded in the band’s hay-day. Coming in at just shy of 5 minutes, this is no simple template either. With almost 2 minutes of just instrumental work, finishing with some tasteful saxophone work.
Little Feats Upcoming Album and Conclusion
It’s exciting to hear such a classic sound being released today. With such a strong taste, I’m very excited to listen to the entire album which is slated to be released next month. If Little Feat are able to match the sound that they’ve used to tease the album, I wouldn’t be surprised if the release were to make waves in the music industry. Arguably the best thing the band has done since their original breakup in the 70s, this is a release that would have made Lowell George proud.
