Little Feat may not be a household name, but the band are loved by a good number of musicians who are: Keith Richards rounded up the Rolling Stones to see them perform in Amsterdam in 1975, Robert Plant publicly lamented their lack of success (as Led Zeppelin’s soared into the stratosphere), and Bob Dylan and Elton John saw them in concert whenever possible. Legends like Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, and Bob Seger helped out on their many albums, and they backed up Robert Palmer, John Cale, and Chico Hamilton.
Yet they never had a hit single, and the closest they came to success was with their 1978 live album, Waiting for Columbus, later performed live in its entirety by jam band Phish. But not even the death of their leader Lowell George could stop the Feats’ shoes from sailin’. The band reformed in 1988 and has continued ever since, with Craig Fuller and Shaun Murphy helping out along the way. Little Feat on track dives into the ups and downs of their 50-year career and discusses every album and song, from their idiosyncratic 1971 debut to the post-pandemic optimism of 2021’s When All Boats Rise.
Georg Purvis is the author of Queen: The Complete Works, Pink Floyd In the 1970s and Elvis Costello and The Attractions on track. He’s been a Little Feat fan his entire life, thanks to his parents, Lynn and Georg. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Meredith, and their two cats, Spencer and William.
