Lowell George
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| Lowell George | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lowell Thomas George |
| Born | April 13, 1945 Hollywood, California United States |
| Died | June 29, 1979 (aged 34) Arlington, Virginia United States |
| Genres | Blues rock, rock and roll, boogie rock, Southern rock, country rock, R&B, blues, funk, blue-eyed soul |
| Occupations | Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Actor |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, harmonica, flute, saxophone, sitar |
| Years active | 1965–1979 |
| Labels | Warner Bros. |
| Associated acts | Little Feat, Mothers of Invention |
| Website | Little Feat Website |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Stratocaster | |
Lowell Thomas George (April 13, 1945 – June 29, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, who was the main guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Little Feat.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Early years
Lowell George was born in Hollywood, 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.
[edit] Performing
[edit] Early years
George's first band, The Factory, formed in 1965, and 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 Hayward (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", and Warren Klein on guitar. Frank Zappa produced two tracks for the band, but they weren't released until 1993 on the album Lightning-Rod Man, billed as Lowell George and The Factory.[2] The band made an appearance on the 1960s sitcom F Troop as "The Bed Bugs". They were also featureed in a episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., "Lost, the Colonel's Daughter" (season 3 episode 27). Although not visible in the scene inside the A Go-Go club, their music can be heard playing loudly. They received credits at the end of the episode as "'The Factory' Lowell-Warren-Martin-Rich, Courtesy of Universal Records".
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-Monkees band "Release".
[edit] Little Feat
After leaving the Mothers of Invention, George invited fellow musicians to form a new band, which they named Little Feat. 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."[3]
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.[4]
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.
[edit] 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 a drug overdose.[5] Lowell George's body was cremated in Washington, D.C. on August 2. His ashes were flown back to Los Angeles, where they were scattered in the Pacific Ocean from his fishing boat.
[edit] 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 Feat, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Nicolette Larson and others.[6]
- The song "Ride Like the Wind" on the 1979 self-titled album by Christopher Cross was dedicated to Lowell George.
- Jackson Browne memorialized George in his 1980 song "Of Missing Persons",[7] on the Hold Out album released in June 1980. The song was dedicated to George's daughter, Inara George who is in the musical duo The Bird and the Bee.
- In 1983, the British poet Sean O'Brien included a poem "For Lowell George" in his collection, The Indoor Park.
- In 1988, American rock band Van Halen covered "A Apolitical Blues" as the closing track for their album OU812.
- 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 Browne, J.D. Souther, Bonnie Raitt, Eddie Money, Randy Newman, Keisuke Kuwata, and Inara George.
[edit] References
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 283. CN 5585.
- ^ "Lowell George & The Factory - Lightning-Rod Man". http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/related/Lightning-Rod_Man.html.
- ^ Rock and Roll Doctor--Lowell George: Guitarist, Songwriter and Founder of Little Feat, by Mark Brend, Backbeat Books, Oct. 2002, p.75,
- ^ 'Written In My Soul' by Bill Flanagan ISBN 0.7119.2224.1 p.353-63
- ^ Lowe-Carter rock wedding Kurt Loder. Anchorage Daily News - Sep 14, 1979.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 329. CN 5585.
- ^ Jrp-graphics.com
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Jerry Garcia |
AMA Presidents Award 2009 |
Succeeded by Not Yet Awarded |
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