Lowell George
Encyclopedia
Lowell Thomas George was an American
singer-songwriter
, multi-instrumentalist
, and producer
, who was the main guitarist and songwriter for the rock
band Little Feat
.
, California the son of Willard H. George, a furrier who raised chinchillas and supplied furs to the movie studios.
George's first instrument was the harmonica
. At the age of 6 he appeared on the Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour
performing a duet with his older brother, Hampton. At Hollywood High School
Lowell took up the flute
in the school marching band
and orchestra. He started to play guitar
at age 11, continued with the harmonica
, and later learned to play the saxophone
and sitar
. He played guitar with fellow schoolmate, and future bandmate, Paul Barrere
.
(he replaced Dallas Taylor
in Sept 1966), and Martin Kibbee (a.k.a. Fred Martin) who would later co-write several Little Feat songs with George, including "Dixie Chicken" and "Rock & Roll Doctor". Frank Zappa
produced two tracks for The Factory. The band made an appearance on the 1960s sitcom F Troop
as "The Bed Bugs".
Following the disbanding of The Factory, George briefly joined the band The Standells
. There followed a few months in late 1968 to early 1969 where George was a member of Zappa's band, the Mothers of Invention, and can be heard on both the album Weasels Ripped My Flesh
, and the first disc of You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
, which included a version of "Here Lies Love" with Lowell as lead vocalist. At a 1975 Little Feat
show in Rochester, New York, George said he was fired from the Mothers of Invention because he "wrote a song ["Willin'"] about dope." George also joined Peter Tork
in his first post-Monkee band "Release".
. George usually (but not always) played lead guitar and focused on slide guitar. Ry Cooder
played the slide on the debut Little Feat album, although George re-recorded some of his material. Mark Brend wrote that George's "use of compression
defined his sound and gave him the means to play his extended melodic lines."
Outside of his band, George played guitar on John Cale
's 1973 album Paris 1919
, Harry Nilsson
's Son of Schmilsson
album (Take 54) and (uncredited but verified by Leo Nocentelli) The Meters
' Just Kissed My Baby in 1974.
In the 1970s, Little Feat released a series of studio albums: Little Feat
, Sailin' Shoes
, Dixie Chicken
, Feats Don't Fail Me Now
, The Last Record Album
, and Time Loves A Hero
. The group's 1978 live album Waiting for Columbus
became their best-selling album.
In an interview with Bill Flanagan conducted eleven days before his death, George stated that he was keen to re-form Little Feat without Bill Payne and Paul Barrère in order to reassert his full control over the group. Due to tensions within the group, especially between George and Payne and, to a lesser extent, Barrère, regarding musical direction and leadership, Payne and Barrère left the group in 1979.
George was also a producer, and produced the Grateful Dead
's 1978 album Shakedown Street
, as well as Little Feat's records, Valerie Carter
's 1977 release Just A Stone's Throw Away, and George's 1979 solo album Thanks, I'll Eat it Here
.
on August 2. His ashes were flown back to Los Angeles
, where they were scattered in the Pacific Ocean
from his fishing boat.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, who was the main guitarist and songwriter for the rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
.
Early years
Lowell George was born in HollywoodHollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
, California the son of Willard H. George, a furrier who raised chinchillas and supplied furs to the movie studios.
George's first instrument was the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
. At the age of 6 he appeared on the Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour
Original Amateur Hour
The Original Amateur Hour is an American radio and television program. The show was a continuation of Major Bowes Amateur Hour which had been a radio staple from 1934 to 1945. Major Edward Bowes, the originator of the program and its master of ceremonies, left the show in 1945 and died the...
performing a duet with his older brother, Hampton. At Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
Lowell took up the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
in the school marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
and orchestra. He started to play guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
at age 11, continued with the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, and later learned to play the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
. He played guitar with fellow schoolmate, and future bandmate, Paul Barrere
Paul Barrere
Paul Barrere is a current member of the band Little Feat, having joined the band in 1974...
.
Early years
George's first band, The Factory, formed in 1965, released at least one single on the Uni label, "Smile, Let Your Life Begin" co-authored by George, with the B-side "When I Was An Apple". Members included future Little Feat drummer Richie HaywardRichie Hayward
Richie Hayward was a drummer best known as a founding member and drummer in the band Little Feat. He performed with several bands and worked as a session player...
(he replaced Dallas Taylor
Dallas Taylor
Dallas Taylor may refer to:* Dallas Taylor , an American session drummer* Dallas Taylor , vocalist for the band Maylene and the Sons of Disaster* David Dallas Taylor, one of the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives in 1953...
in Sept 1966), and Martin Kibbee (a.k.a. Fred Martin) who would later co-write several Little Feat songs with George, including "Dixie Chicken" and "Rock & Roll Doctor". Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
produced two tracks for The Factory. The band made an appearance on the 1960s sitcom F Troop
F Troop
F Troop is a satirical American television sitcom that originally aired for two seasons on ABC-TV. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965 and concluded its run on April 6, 1967 with a total of 65 episodes. The first season of 34 episodes was filmed in black-and-white, but the show...
as "The Bed Bugs".
Following the disbanding of The Factory, George briefly joined the band The Standells
The Standells
The Standells are a garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as the "Godfathers of Punk Rock", and are best known for their 1966 hit "Dirty Water," now the anthem of several Boston sports teams.-The 1960s:...
. There followed a few months in late 1968 to early 1969 where George was a member of Zappa's band, the Mothers of Invention, and can be heard on both the album Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Weasels Ripped My Flesh is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970.Given Zappa's already stated penchant for expressing his music in "phases"—We're Only in It for the Money was written up as "phase one of Lumpy Gravy"—conceptually, Zappa fans occasionally label this...
, and the first disc of You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 is a double compact disc collection of live recordings by Frank Zappa. Disc one comprises performances by the Mothers of Invention spanning the period from 1966 to 1969. "My Guitar" had been previously released as a single in 1969...
, which included a version of "Here Lies Love" with Lowell as lead vocalist. At a 1975 Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
show in Rochester, New York, George said he was fired from the Mothers of Invention because he "wrote a song ["Willin'"] about dope." George also joined Peter Tork
Peter Tork
Peter Tork is an American musician and actor, best known as a member of The Monkees.-Early life:Tork was born Peter Halsten Thorkelson in Washington, D.C.. Although he was born in 1942, many news articles report him as born in 1944 in New York City as this was the date and place given on early...
in his first post-Monkee band "Release".
Little Feat
After leaving the Mothers of Invention, George invited fellow musicians to form a new band, which they named Little FeatLittle Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
. George usually (but not always) played lead guitar and focused on slide guitar. Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
played the slide on the debut Little Feat album, although George re-recorded some of his material. Mark Brend wrote that George's "use of compression
Compression (electric guitar)
Compression is a subtle effect primarily for electric guitar where the highest and lowest points of the sound wave are "limited". This boosts the volume of softer picked notes, while capping the louder ones, giving a more even level of volume...
defined his sound and gave him the means to play his extended melodic lines."
Outside of his band, George played guitar on John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
's 1973 album Paris 1919
Paris 1919 (album)
Paris 1919 is a 1973 album by former Velvet Underground member John Cale. It was produced by Chris Thomas and features a backing band consisting largely of members of Little Feat. It is the most accessible and traditional of Cale's albums, and the most well-known of his work as a solo artist.A...
, Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
's Son of Schmilsson
Son of Schmilsson
Son of Schmilsson is the eighth album by Harry Nilsson. Nilsson was being pressured to produce a follow-up album similar to his 1971 breakthrough, Nilsson Schmilsson, but, instead, he cut a more eccentric album....
album (Take 54) and (uncredited but verified by Leo Nocentelli) The Meters
The Meters
The Meters are an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977...
' Just Kissed My Baby in 1974.
In the 1970s, Little Feat released a series of studio albums: Little Feat
Little Feat (album)
Little Feat was the eponymous debut by the American rock band Little Feat, released in January 1971. Cobbled together from a variety of recording sessions mostly between August and September 1970, its sound can be best described as the antithesis to any of the group's classic recordings . Featuring...
, Sailin' Shoes
Sailin' Shoes
Sailin' Shoes was the second studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1972. It is notable for several reasons.First, it introduced the work of Neon Park to the group, with his design of a sailing shoe of a cake swinging on a tree swing that adorned the front cover, which...
, Dixie Chicken
Dixie Chicken (album)
Dixie Chicken is the third studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1973. . The artwork for the front cover was by illustrator Neon Park....
, Feats Don't Fail Me Now
Feats Don't Fail Me Now
Feats Don't Fail Me Now is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1974. .-Track listing:#"Rock & Roll Doctor" – 2:57#"Oh, Atlanta" – 3:26...
, The Last Record Album
The Last Record Album
The Last Record Album is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1975. .-Track listing:#"Romance Dance" – 3:49#"All That You Dream" – 3:52...
, and Time Loves A Hero
Time Loves a Hero
Time Loves a Hero is the sixth studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1977. .-Track listing:#"Hi Roller" – 3:35#"Time Loves a Hero" – 3:47...
. The group's 1978 live album Waiting for Columbus
Waiting for Columbus
Waiting for Columbus is the first live album by the Southern roots-rock band, Little Feat. The album was recorded during seven performances in 1977. The first four shows were held at the Rainbow Theatre in London on August 1-4, 1977. The final three shows were recorded in George Washington...
became their best-selling album.
In an interview with Bill Flanagan conducted eleven days before his death, George stated that he was keen to re-form Little Feat without Bill Payne and Paul Barrère in order to reassert his full control over the group. Due to tensions within the group, especially between George and Payne and, to a lesser extent, Barrère, regarding musical direction and leadership, Payne and Barrère left the group in 1979.
George was also a producer, and produced the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
's 1978 album Shakedown Street
Shakedown Street
Shakedown Street is the tenth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was released on November 15, 1978 by Arista.The album was released for the first time on CD in 1990 by Arista Records before being re-released in 2000 by BMG International. It was then remastered, expanded, and released as part of...
, as well as Little Feat's records, Valerie Carter
Valerie Carter
Valerie Carter to James J and Dorothy Carter, is an American singer-songwriter...
's 1977 release Just A Stone's Throw Away, and George's 1979 solo album Thanks, I'll Eat it Here
Thanks, I'll Eat It Here
Thanks, I'll Eat it Here is the title of the only solo album by the late rock and roll singer-songwriter Lowell George. While George is best known for his work with Little Feat, by 1977 Lowell felt that they were moving increasingly into jazz-rock, a form in which he felt little interest. As a...
.
Death
On June 15, 1979, George began a tour in support of his solo album. George collapsed in his Arlington, Virginia hotel room and died on June 29, 1979. An autopsy showed that he died of an accidental drug overdose. Lowell George's body was cremated in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on August 2. His ashes were flown back to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where they were scattered in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
from his fishing boat.
Posthumous tributes and cover songs
- A benefit concert for George's family was held shortly after his death at the Forum in Los Angeles on August 4, 1979, featuring Little FeatLittle FeatLittle Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
, Jackson BrowneJackson BrowneJackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
, Linda RonstadtLinda RonstadtLinda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, Bonnie RaittBonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, Nicolette LarsonNicolette LarsonNicolette Larson was an American pop singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young, as well as her 1978 cover of Young's "Lotta Love". The song, her debut single, was a Number One Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks hit and #8 pop hit that year...
, among others. - The song "Ride Like the WindRide Like the WindIn 1991, the band East Side Beat a remix of the song Ride Like the Wind on. This is in contrast to the original version created the very style of the 1990s. There are also five remixes of the cover...
" on the 1979 self-titled album by Christopher CrossChristopher CrossChristopher Cross is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. His debut album earned him five Grammys. He is perhaps best known for his Top Ten hit songs, "Sailing", "Ride Like the Wind", and "Arthur's Theme ", the last of which he performed for the film Arthur starring Dudley Moore...
was dedicated to Lowell George. - Jackson BrowneJackson BrowneJackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
memorialized George in his 1980 song "Of Missing Persons", on the Hold Out album released in June 1980. The song was dedicated to George's daughter, Inara GeorgeInara GeorgeInara Maryland George is a Los Angeles, California-based singer-songwriter, one half of The Bird and the Bee, a member of the band Merrick, with Bryony Atkinson, and a member of the trio The Living Sisters, with Eleni Mandell and Becky Stark...
who is in the musical duo The Bird and the BeeThe Bird and the BeeThe Bird and the Bee is an American indie pop musical duo from Los Angeles, California, consisting of musicians Inara George and Greg Kurstin...
. - In 1983, the British poet Sean O'BrienSean O'Brien (writer)Sean O'Brien is a British poet, critic, playwright. Prizes he has garnered include the Eric Gregory Award , the Somerset Maugham Award , the Cholmondeley Award , the Forward Poetry Prize and the T. S. Eliot Prize...
included a poem "For Lowell George" in his collection, The Indoor Park. - In 1988, American rock band Van HalenVan HalenVan Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
covered "A Apolitical Blues" as the closing track for their album OU812OU812OU812 is the 8th studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1988. The album title is allegedly a joke on Van Halen's previous lead singer David Lee Roth's 1986 album Eat 'Em and Smile . However, "OU812" was also seen in the 70s sitcom Taxi written on a wall...
. - In 1997, the CD Rock-n-Roll Doctor - A Tribute To Lowell George was released featuring various artists performing versions of George's songs, including Jackson BrowneJackson BrowneJackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
, J.D. Souther, Bonnie RaittBonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, Eddie MoneyEddie MoneyEddie Money is an American rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter who found success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums...
, Randy NewmanRandy NewmanRandall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
, Keisuke KuwataKeisuke Kuwatahas gained fame as a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and frontman for the Southern All-Stars, as well as his own solo band, the Kuwata band. He has also done significant amount of scoring music for films. He went to Aoyama Gakuin University....
, and Inara George. - French recording artist Yann Schubert included tribute song "Lowell George" (words and music by Jean Philippe Kohn) in his '80s eponymous album ( AZ/2 320 )
- On October 31, 2010 the band Phish, in keeping with their tradition of donning a "Musical Costume" for Halloween covered the entire Waiting for Columbus album at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.