Led by songwriter and guitarist Lowell George, Little Feat were a wildly eclectic band, combining
blues, R&B,
country, and
rock & roll influences. George had a long musical career before first joining
Frank Zappa's
Mothers of Invention, then starting Little Feat. As a child, he and his brother Hampton performed a harmonica duet on television's Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour. During high school, he learned to play the flute. Later, he appeared as an oboist and saxophonist on several Frank Sinatra recordings. He went on to form the folk-rock group "The Factory" together with drummer Richie Hayward in 1965. Following the group's demise, George joined the Mothers of Invention, where he met Roy Estrada, with whom he formed Little Feat in 1969 alongside Richie Hayward and Billy Payne. The band’s first two albums were no commercial successes, despite receiving positive reviews. As a result, the group temporarily disbanded, and Estrada left music to become a computer programmer. When the group reconvened later in 1972, he was replaced by New Orleans musician Kenny Gradney. In its second incarnation, Little Feat also featured guitarist Paul Barrére and percussionist Sam Clayton, giving the music a funkier feeling, as demonstrated by 1973's Dixie Chicken. The band toured heavily after releasing the record, building a strong following in the entire US. Nevertheless, the group remained centered in Los Angeles, since the members also worked as studio musicians. Though the band was earning a cult following, several members of the group were growing frustrated by George's erratic behavior and increasing drug use. Barrére and Payne became the band's main songwriters and were primarily responsible for the jazzy fusions of the group’s albums from the second half of the 70s. Payne, Barrére, Hayward, Gradney, and Clayton re-formed Little Feat in 1988 after a hiatus, adding vocalist/guitarist Craig Fuller and guitarist Fred Tackett, and the band successfully continued touring and releasing music. After a struggle with liver disease, founding Feat member Richie Hayward passed away from pneumonia and lung disease on August 12, 2010. Little Feat continued to tour after his death, enlisting Gabe Ford as their new drummer.
