Fong-Torres - Willin : the story of Little Feat

This has been, by far, the most difficult project Ive tackled. But the reason for this has little to do with Little Feat. Its members, past and present, and its associatesfellow musicians, managers, producers, record company executives and staffershave been most helpful. So have family, friends, and fans.

My problems were personal, and theyll be briefly addressed soon enough. But I am grateful that, from start to finish, I found so many people willing to helpwith personal stories, anecdotes, research materials, and suggestions for others who might shed additional light on this much-loved band.

I am including a list of all the people I interviewed. Im not one to play favorites, but I need to note that, among the band, Bill Payne and Paul Barrere were especially helpful. Among Lowell Georges family, Hampton, his brother, and two of his kids, Luke and Inara, were generous with their memories. So were his first wife, Patte, and the love of his life, Elizabeth, who gave as much as she could while steadfastly trying to guard her and their privacy.

There are a few musicians who did not respond to requests for interviews, but they were outnumbered by those who spoke with enthusiasm about a favorite band. Special thanks to Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Buffett, Linda Ronstadt, John Sebastian, Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers, Page McConnell of Phish, and Van Dyke Parks.

I am also grateful that Lenny Waronker and Joe Smith, presidents of Warner Bros. Records; Peter Asher, the manager; and Russ Titelman and Ted Templeman, Little Feats first two producers, granted time to me. Others who were especially close to the band as well as to Lowell George and who were of great help included Gene Vano, Georges faithful roadie and driver; Martin Kibbee; his childhood friend and cowriter; journalists Bud Scoppa and Daisann McLane; and managers Cameron Sears and John Scher.

It was appropriate that one of my first interviews was with Lynn Hearne, who as a teenager in Southern California became a fan of rock bands and met Lowell George while he was in the Factory. She compiled binders full of Feat press clippings and memorabilia over the years, exemplified the lifelong Little Feat fan, and introduced me to the bands Grassroots movement.

There, I found Chris Cafiero, online keeper of all things Feat, along with two radio broadcasters, Ed OConnell of WHCN in Connecticut and Cerphe Colwell of WHFS in Maryland, who shared their encounters with George as well as two others, Gary Bennett of KSHE in St. Louis, and David Moss, who each produced and hosted long-running Little Feat radio shows. Mosss son, Matt, is an example of Little Feats reach into the current generation. He is the drummer in the band Steel Toed Slippers, whove opened for Little Feat and whose 2012 CD was coproduced by Feat bassist Kenny Gradney and Johnny Lee Schell, the guitarist who engineered Little Feats latest, Rooster Rag.

For editorial assistance I thank my longtime friend Bobbi Cowan in Hollywood and Elizabeth Valente, a former student of mine when I taught a magazine-writing class at San Francisco State University; Elizabeth was invaluable in helping me cross the finish line. At the Perseus Books Group, Carolyn Sobczak and Josephine Mariea were wonderful in their capacities as project editor and copy editor, respectively.

In every book there are two women I thank. One is Sarah Lazin, my colleague for years from Rolling Stone who became one of the best literary agents in the business. Ive been fortunate that shes kept me on her roster and led me to a Little Feat fan who happened also to be an editor at Da Capo Press. I am grateful that this editor, Ben Schafer, saw fit to entrust me with the assignment of telling the improbable story of the band that was always... willin.

Second, and most of all, I thank Dianne, who had grown accustomed to my meeting and beating deadlines for my previous books and was shockedshocked!that I had to push my delivery date several times. But, of course, she understood. Soon after I agreed to the Little Feat project my family and I suffered a series of tragedies that were almost beyond comprehension. I wont get into it here; thats what personal websites and blogs are for. Suffice it to say that we miss my younger sister, Shirley, and my younger brother, Burton, and that we are taking turns visiting my mother at her nursing care facility in Oakland.

The personal losses took their toll on my work schedule and must have taxed everyone involved. But they also gave me additional empathy for the losses Little Feats family endured, from band members like Lowell George, Richie Hayward, album cover artist Neon Park, road manager Rick Harper to family members like Fran Tate Payne, studio engineer, vocalist, and wife of Bill Payne.

Finally I thank the family members who, for the last two years, saw a particularly more rushed version of me than usual, including my sister Sarah and Dave Watkins; my niece Tina Pavao and her family, Matt and the girls; Maggie and Stella; my niece Lea; and my nephew Jason Watkins and his wife, Wendy Todd. My in-laws in Los Angeles saw me not at all except when I swung by to see Little Feat working on Rooster Rag. I look forward to longer visits with Robin and Chuck Ward as well as with Eileen and Richard Powers.

ALSO BY BEN FONG-TORRES

Eagles: Taking It to the Limit

Grateful Dead Scrapbook: The Long, Strange Trip in Stories, Photos, and Memorabilia

Becoming Almost Famous: My Back Pages in Music, Writing, and Life

The Doors by The Doors

The Hits Just Keep on Coming: The History of Top 40 Radio

Not Fade Away: A Backstage Pass to 20 Years of Rock & Roll

Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons

The Rice Room: Growing Up Chinese-American from Number Two Son to Rock n Roll

Little Feat

Paul Barrere

Sam Clayton

Roy Estrada

Gabe Ford

Craig Fuller

Kenny Gradney

Shaun Murphy

Bill Payne

Fred Tackett

Musicians

Greg Adams

Denny Bruce

Jimmy Buffett

John Fleckenstein

Elliot Ingber

Ira Ingber

Tom Johnston

Rickie Lee Jones

Martin Kibbee

Warren Klein

Page McConnell

June Millington

Van Dyke Parks

Bonnie Raitt

Linda Ronstadt

John Sebastian

Larry Tamblyn

Allen Toussaint

Ivan Ulz

Bob Weir

Family of Lowell George

Elizabeth George

Hampton George

Inara George

Luke George

Patte George Stahlbaum

Producers

George Massenburg

Ted Templeman

Russ Titelman

Staffers, Managers, and Record Execs

Peter Asher

Georgia (Jo) Bergman

Howard Burke

Carl Scott

Joe Smith

Gene Vano

Lenny Waronker

Grass Roots Movement

Linda Bangham

Dick Bangham

Chris Cafiero

Lynn Hearne

Jay Herbst

Amy Miller

Fred Miller

David Moss

Diane Pelis

Media

Gary Bennett

Don Cerphe Colwell

Daisann McLane

Ed OConnell

JoAnne Ostrow

Books

Brackett, Nathan, and Christian Hoard. (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Fireside, 2004.

Brend, Mark. Rock and Roll Doctor: Lowell George, Guitarist, Songwriter, and Founder of Little Feat. London: Backbeat Books, 2002.

Burgess, Chuck, and Bill Nowlin. Love That Dirty Water!: The Standells and the Improbable Red Sox Victory Anthem. Cambridge, MA: Rounder Books, 2007.

Burks, John, and Jerry Hopkins. Rolling Stone Special Report: Groupies and Other Girls. New York: Bantam Books, 1970.

Cornyn, Stan, and Paul Scanlon. EXPLODING: The Highs, Hits, Hype, Heroes, and Hustlers of the Warner Music Group. New York: Harper Entertainment and Rolling Stone Press Book, 2002.

Flanagan, Bill. In My Soul: Rocks Great Songwriters Talk About Creating Their Music