Little Feat

One of the US's most respected and long-running rock bands, Little Feat fuse blues, country and funk influences into a twanging, Dixieland, bar-room boogie that captures the spirit of good time Americana. Formed in Los Angeles in 1969 after guitarist Lowell George was sacked from Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention, the group split after second album Sailin' Shoes (1972) flopped, but soon reformed with the intention of creating a funkier, New Orleans-style sound. It brought successful albums Dixie Chicken (1973) and Feats Don't Fail Me Now (1974) as the band became cult heroes with celebrity fans such as Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Emmylou Harris. They played as a backing band for Robert Palmer on his album Pressure Drop (1975) but again disbanded in 1979 when George died of a heart attack. The surviving members reformed in 1987 for gold-selling, eighth album Let It Roll (1988), producing the hit Hate To Lose Your Lovin' and playing a number of sell-out shows to a new generation of fans. Female vocalist Shaun Murphy joined in 1993, performing 1,400 gigs with the band by 2009. Despite the death of original drummer Richie Hayward in 2010, the band is still active today.