Lowell George

Lowell Thomas George or Lowell George (April 13, 1945 - June 29, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, who was lead vocalist and frontman in the rock band Little Feat. Lowell George's first band, The Factory, formed in 1965. 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". Frank Zappa produced two tracks for The Factory. 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. After leaving the Mothers of Invention, George invited fellow musicians to form a new band, which they named Little Feat. As Feat's primary motive force and chief songwriter, he sang, played slide guitar and produced much of their output of eight albums...plus "Hoy Hoy," a collection of live recordings and studio outtakes released posthumously. Recorded one amazing solo LP. Died at the age of 34. An autopsy showed that he died of an accidental drug overdose. With Little Feat, Lowell crafted a completely unique-sounding band. His approach to the slide or "bottleneck" guitar was not based in the blues from whence it originated, but was rather tailored specifically for the New Orleans-style funk, jazz-tinged improvisations and straight-ahead rock which the band played so brilliantly. Lowell became a major influence on other artists such as Linda Ronstadt and The Rolling Stones. Even a producer for the Grateful Dead. Notorious for his hard partying life style, died of a heart attack at age 34. The rock world lost a musician of singular talent and vision with his passing. Lowell's daughter, Inara George, is a solo artist and member of the duo The Bird and the Bee.