Featured Album – Dixie Chicken – Little Feat

Written by Jim S.

From the band’s website: “As strange as it sounds, the name Little Feat comes from the size of (co-founder) Lowell Georgeโ€™s feet. Guitarist Paul Barrere explains: “Lowell George had unusually little, fat feet and Jimmy Carl Black of The Mothers happened to make mention of them to Lowell with an expletive. Lowell deleted the expletive and the name was born with Feat instead of Feet, just like the Beatles. Neat huh?”

Lowell George*, in his day, was a well-respected musician who did it all – wrote, sang, played, produced, led a band. He did it all so well that someone once referred to him as the Orson Welles of rock.

And as you can ascertain from the above quote, he spent some of his formative years as a member of Frank Zappa‘sย band, the Mothers of Invention. He is listed as rhythm guitar/vocals on both Weasels Ripped My Flesh and the live,ย You Can’t Doย That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 5.

It was only a matter of time until the multitalented Arlington, VA-born George formed his own group. The first couple of Feat albums included Zappa’s bassist, Roy Estrada. Estrada left prior toย Dixie Chicken to join Captain Beefheart’s band and was replaced by Kenny Gradney who is their bassist to this very day. Gradney had played previously with the ubiquitousย Delaney and Bonnie.

Little Feat had been simmering for a while, somewhat under the radar, out there on the fringes, bubbling under the edges. The biggest radio hit they’d had thus far was a great George tune called “Willin,'” a song they apparently liked so much it’s on both their first and second albums. (The versions are slightly different. The tune has become somewhat of a standard and Linda Ronstadt famously covered it on her 1974 Heart Like a Wheel Album.)

But it was the 1973ย album Dixie Chicken that, as much as anything, put Little Feat on the map. How to describe this album? Wikipedia refers to it as Southern rock, blues rock, roots rock, New Orleans R&B and swamp rock. Gumbo!

First up, the title track. (The Dixie Chicks got their name from this song.) If you happen to hear it on the radio, you will spend the next few days singing this to yourself:

If you’ll be my Dixie Chicken
I’ll be your Tennessee lamb
And we can walk together
Down in Dixieland
Down in Dixieland

Spotify link

I should note here that any slide guitar on this album is by Lowell George who was considered one of the best slide players ever. Bonnie Raitt was a major friend and fan of his and in fact, both she and Bonnie Bramlett sing backing vocals on this album. (George plays slide on one ofย  Raitt’s albums.)

Next up, the soulful, bluesy, Allen Toussaint-penned “On Your Way Down.” I don’t know that George and Toussaint ever knew each other or worked together but Lowell was clearly influenced by Toussaint’s laid-back sound. And homespun philosophy:

The same people you misuse on your way up
You might meet up
On your way down

Spotify link

Exhibit C from this album – and rivaling my affection for the title song – is the funk-fest, “Fat Man in the Bathtub.” It features what is known as second-line drumming, a New Orleans style that plays polyrhythms off the main beat.

“That song. was one of my first experiments in second line,” drummer Richie Hayward said. “It began with that straight Bo Diddley thing you hear in the intro, and through the course of the tune, it changes feel about six times. Theyโ€™re all at the same tempo, but they feel completely different.”

The song is more good, clean fun from Mr. Lowell, about a dude named Spotcheck Billy (not to be confused with Springsteen‘s Big Bones Billy) trying to get busy with a senorita named Juanita (not to be confused with Rosalita.):

Spotcheck Billy got down on his hands and knees
He said, “Hey mama, hey let me check your oil all right?”
She said “No, no honey, not tonight.
Come back Monday, come back Tuesday, and then I might”

Spotify link

Lowell George died in 1979 of a cocaine-induced drug overdose. Richie Hayward died in 2010. But the band continues to this day. If you’re looking for a really fine live album of this nasty jumbalaya, consider their 1978 album Waiting for Columbus. It’s got a couple of tunes from this album and they stretch out nicely on “Dixie Chicken.”

*I have almost no rock ‘nย roll T-shirts but I do have one with Duane Allman on it. I wore it at the beach this past summer. Some guy, maybe 25 or so, working at a fast food joint saw it, told me his name was Lowell, parents named him for Mr. George. So, there’s that.

28 thoughts on “Featured Album – Dixie Chicken – Little Feat”

  1. Great piece. I donโ€™t think they put a foot wrong on this album… this, Sailinโ€™ Shoes, and Georgeโ€™s Thanks Iโ€™ll Eat It Here are essentials for me.

    But yeah, this is wonderful from start to finish.

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    1. “Don’t think they put a foot wrong.” Heh. Good point. All that stuff is great. Nice to hear from you J, I’ve seen you around the neighborhood.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks, Jim. Itโ€™s been good stopping by and Iโ€™ll do so more often.

        … and thanks for posting about one of my favourite albums.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Great album- great post. One question…isn’t the lyric to Dixie Chicken, ” I’ll be your Tennessee LAMB”? Either way its s winner!

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  3. I listen to this album a lot. Like the Allmans they just seem to sound better all the time.
    (I have an Ozzy t shirt of him biting a head off a bird. It’s yours if we ever meet)

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    1. I kinda figured CB would dig this band. I gotta spin that live album one time soon. As to Ozzy, that would be cool to have. Then I’d have two t-shirts. BTW, I saw your posts and intend to comment. But busier than a one-armed paperhanger lately. Soon.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. I watch a show called ‘Blue grass Underground’. I get exposed to all sorts of live music (which I know the Doc likes). I caught an episode a while back with a band called Leftover Salmon. I was digging it and then the keyboardist took a mean solo and it was Bill Payne.

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  7. My 2nd favorite Little Feat album (Waiting for Columbus is #1). I always thought that “Fat Man” never got the airplay that it deserved.

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    1. You could just as easily say that Little Feat never got the airplay they deserved. I mean, they weren’t a cult band by any means but then again, never seemed to acquire mass popularity. Side note – I wonder if they’ll ever be nominated to the Rock n Roll HOF. Is there enough of a constituency, inside or outside for them?

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  8. Hey Jim, what’s your last name? I’ll be publishing a book soon, and I’m acknowledging all those who regularly support my blog writing. If you prefer to remain anonymous, that’s fine, I can just say “Jim S.” or “Jim the Music Enthusiast.”

    Lemme know… thanks!

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    1. I’m not shy about my name but then again I tend not to bandy it about. Music Enthusiast would be just fine, URL even better if you have an e-version. But, you’re writing a book? About what?

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      1. It’s about my trail hiking over the last 5 years. That piece about meeting the religious cultist is in there. It’s a memoir that tries to be more than just a run-of-the-mill trail diary… meaning I’m not shy about airing my thoughts! (Should be interesting how many 1-star reviews I get on Amazon, if I get any.)

        Ok, I’ll use “Music Enthusiast.” You’ll be the only one with a nom de plume, so you’ll definitely stand out! (probably can’t use a URL, since I’d have to do it for everyone, which would be real clunky)

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        1. Nom de plume. I like that phrase. A certain air of mystery. Yeah, screw the URL. Doesn’t matter. BTW, i don’t mention this a lot but I self-published a novel on Amazon a few years back. More than a few reviewers – coincidentally all related to me – found it “powerful” and “gripping.” Others found it “every bit worth the $2.99 I paid.” You’ll see it (with any luck) at the URL below. No obligation on your part to buy it of course. But you will at long last find out my name which you heretofore have been denied. ๐Ÿ˜‚

          Liked by 1 person

  9. Wow! I had no idea! Lots of creative types on WordPress (Cincinnati Babyhead, too). I’ll definitely order a copy, and I’ll even review it.

    Also, you’ve got a great surname. I really love your movies, especially “It’s a Wonderful Life.” ๐Ÿ™‚

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    1. Heh! First time I’ve heard that joke – today. ๐Ÿ˜‚ Literally everybody mentions that movie but everyone seems to forget he did upwards of 100 movies. My own favorite is “Rear Window.”

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      1. Yes, I wondered if maybe I shouldn’t have been so “obvious.” I agree, he was prolific, and his Hitchcock flicks are classics. “Wonderful Life” is so special, though, the one Capra flick I can actually stomach. Also, it’s got the incomparable bad girl Gloria Grahame, one of my fantasy f***s.

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  10. You guys are taking it into the place where CB has to shy away from. ( I totally missed the Jimmy connection. I told you CB is a little slow on the uptake sometimes. You shot Lee Marvin!)

    Doc’s book is a very good read Pete. Reads like a screenplay. Lots of great scenes, images, dialogue. A few out loud laughs. I’ve read Aunt Beulah’s book also. Enjoyed it. I have ‘Blubber’ on search through the library.. If that fails I will do the Amazon thing like I did for the others and get Falda to hook me up. The new one sounds very interesting.

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    1. CB is too kind especially after all the pot shots I’ve taken at that picture that shows up when he posts. For the record Pete, CB and I are thinking about making a movie of my book. CB will direct and play Morty, the kindly (yet lovable) old codger down the street. We still need someone to play the former junkie turned basketball coach who teaches the kids some self-respect. May we pencil you in for that part?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. You are to funny! You have my wheels turning for characters. I want to play one of your “prick bosses”. Pete can do a cameo. The Mayor of Philly. Ex junkie/basketball player.

        (A buddy of mine was just in a film, ‘Sollers Point’. Takes place in a tough neighborhood in Baltimore. There’s a market Doc, small but still a market)

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