After leaving the Mothers of Invention, George invited a contingent of fellow musicians (including former Zappa bassist Roy Estrada, keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward) to form a new band, which they named Little Feat. George usually (but not always) played lead guitar and focused on slide guitar, but Ry Cooder played the slide on "Willin'" on the debut Little Feat album after George badly injured his hand while working on a powered model airplane, although George rerecorded some of his material and he played the rest of the slide work on the album. Mark Brend wrote that George's "use of compression defined his sound and gave him the means to play his extended melodic lines."[5] George began playing slide with the casing of a Sears, Roebuck, and Co. Craftsman 13/16" spark plug socket wrench that was given to him by a friend—Steve, whom he had met from New Hampshire—rather than the traditional glass or steel finger tube. (Spark plugs came in two sizes at the time: 13/16" and, later, 5/8"; the former was universal during George's time.)
Little Feat signed to Warner Bros. Records through Zappa's efforts and their first album was Little Feat, produced by Russ Titelman, but it was not a commercial success and only sold 11,000 copies on initial release.[8]
The follow-up album, Sailin' Shoes, produced by Ted Templeman, was the band's first record to feature cover artwork by Neon Park, but despite good reviews the album fared no better commercially.
Estrada left the band in 1972 to join Captain Beefheart's Magic Band as well as to get away from the pollution in Los Angeles and he was replaced on bass by Kenny Gradney. In addition, Little Feat expanded to a sextet by adding a second guitarist Paul Barrere and percussionist Sam Clayton, thus cementing the classic line-up, and they took on a New Orleans funk direction with their next album, Dixie Chicken, the first to be produced by George.[9]
By the spring of 1976, Little Feat were touring North America opening for The Who.
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Little Feat released several other studio albums in the 1970s, including 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 to date. "Down on the Farm" was their last album to feature Lowell and it was released shortly after his death in 1979.
Tensions within the group, especially between George, Payne, and, to a lesser extent, Barrere regarding musical direction and leadership, led to Payne and Barrere's departure from the group in 1979 and the group's subsequent disbandment.
01. Little Feat - Hi Roller
02. Little Feat - Time Loves A Hero
03. Little Feat - Rocket In My Pocket
04. Little Feat - Day At The Dog Races
05. Little Feat - Old Folks Boogie
06. Little Feat - Red Streamliner
07. Little Feat - New Delhi Freight Train
08. Little Feat - Keepin' Up With The Joneses
09. Little Feat - Missin' You
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