Lowell George Interview WXRT Chicago, June 15, 1979 

While Lowell was doing the interview, I was at the Chicago airport, to pick up the band's equipment, which had been flown from LA. I walked off the back of the Ryder rental truck, and sprained my ankle really bad. It was twice it's normal size or more. Great! First day of the tour. I was the truck driver and drum tech, and I did the tour with a cane. Lowell once came to my hotel room with a bunch of Chinese medicines that he had gone out and bought for me. Lowell was a friend and my hero as well.

His vocals..., and slide guitar....we will always remember.

The very very best band I ever heard,Waiting for Columbus best live album so far. Perhaps the only band that never made a bad song.

Lowell and Little Feat.....accept no imitations! His soul and pain, the tightness of the musicians, Feat Forever!

“What is success? It certainly isn’t money..” Lowell was a visionary and true artist because he felt doing what you love mattered more than anything else. Great interview.

At the age of 17 in 1977 a friend and I hitch-hiked 300 miles from Cornwall in the South of England to Manchester to watch Little Feat. On the day of the concert, I had my pocket picked playing pool and our tickets stolen. I begged everyone outside for any spare tickets. As the doors opened, and most people had already entered a guy came forward and sold us two tickets at face value. Without doubt, the most amazing concert I've ever seen and the only time I ever saw the Feat live. Their music shaped my musical taste for the rest of my life. So blessed not to have missed that night.

Lowell passed away a mere 6 weeks after this interview....I feel sadness every time I listen to this...A soft spoken musical genius...RIP Lowell, your music will endure forever...

"I don't sell records, I make them." What a great line. I bought the CD package of Little Feat's first five Albums/CDs. I've been playing them almost exclusively in the car. A great study in awesome, clever, rock and roll boogey music. Just a blast, Lowell was the man. The whole band was just fantastic.

I can't believe I'm hearing this -- never heard before. I was at the Park West that night, an INCREDIBLY moving concert, magnified by Lowell George's death just two weeks later. Such a loss.

One of the really greatest bands ever , I saw them in England in 1976. even my square sister was bopping! Thanks to the roadie I spoke to the night before, he opened a side door for us , absolutely brilliant gig.

This interview on the day i was born.

I don't care what anyone says, Lowell was genius and original talent and yes, he had a flaw,as does everyone. Nobody played like him...just a few notes here and there but the notes that matter...Him and Kossoff....man, nobody could get near those guys in terms of feel and economy.He was a gift to us and don't forget it....

I miss Lowell George like I miss 2nd grade. Rest easy RIP

Great and inspiring musician and an intelligent, articulate man. A sad loss indeed.

Most excellent

Such an awesome guy and such a tragic loss.

Miss u in this life ,I am sure u are in paradise.

Always, my favourite Rock Band......

"I don't sell records I make 'em"! What a humble guy! RIP

I was there. It was taped by my Sony D6c & I can tell it was a 2 man Group still. I was in good w/the Sndmn at a club in DC-ADAMS. When Blues Busters was still a Duo: Paul & Catfish Hodge- I was plugged into the Sndbd & it was perfect in every way. I taped Live AID & I didn't let a Single Song get cut. That's sloppy. Anyway, Paul intro'd 1-"I wrote this for Bonnie - she didn't want it so WE did it: 'I been down but not like this be-fore'(Dream)". Later "This is for Lowell; wherever you are:" & into the most beautiful version of Willin'. BIG, angry, sad Tears fell that night. I don't know if that was the 1st -3rd time that Duo'd played for a group of people but it WAS still a little awkward- not screwed up, but a little bit awkward. They did a lot of Paul's Songs 'If The Phone Don't Ring', et al & others from 'On My Own Two Feet', stuff that wound up on the 2 Blues Busters LPs on the Landslide label out of Savannah Georgia if not mistaken. Mostly Feat, Dixie Dregs & the same Babes as well: Bonnie, Emmylou, Linda, Nicolette Larson (she's on a LIVE American Bandstand that's just fantastic! It's Paul, Kenny Gradney & (from Paul's 'List' & caliber) Bobby Lakind. The others -?

Mr earlthis is priceless...the feat came along at the right time for me.....and the sudden death of lowell stil ratlles my soul....any new thing I find about the feat...and especially lowell I cant get enough of.....how you came upon all this???? I cant fathom....but send out whatever you can find....

Great job uncovering this!!

"my sweet china white. she ain't here tonight". Lowell George R I P. You brother, will always be in our ears.

I saw Lowell for the last time at the show at Stage West in West Hartford a week after this interview.Two earlier shows before that in 1978 at Woolsey Hall in New Haven and in 1978 at the Civic center in Springfield Mass were three times in my life I was truly blessed.

love that acoustic solo version of CHINA WHITE. Great interview! RIP Lowell

Two weeks after this interview, he dies, RIP Lowell.

... I saw them twice in the 70's with LG... they were so great that I'm not sure mere language can express what they captured live onstage...

.... "Robbed me blind"... There are no words to tell you, Lowell, how much you have greatly improved my life, my children"s lives, my patient's lives. Thank you. It was the honor of my life the see you play at the Paradise in Boston 6 days before you left us. Peace and Love to all!

Omg, he died just 15 days after this interview. He was such a big influence on so many others.

I was at the Feat's last performance- (Lisner Auditorium). D.C. was a major fan base back in those days- or to quote Lowell, while on stage, "you folks are crazy"- (it's on "Waiting For Columbus" at 1:00:53).

Btw-if anyone is interested - Daniel Grooms was highly involved in the affiliated indie Radio Stations & XRT is probably one of those. His channel has a treasure trove of that era & every thing but The Roches it seems. I thank both of you.🤔🎼👍🥀🤷‍♂️🌹🐄💨

People leaving negative messages about this interview this man was amazing .as was the band ...he did have problems. But you can't sing the blues like the way he did without living the life .China white for example. .man's was a legend..

Lowell is the king of swamp slide boogie blues with smooth vocals

Love your musicianship Lowell.!!

the best ehuman that ever was, adore everything about him. he was a gift

The World misses men like Lowell. Music for art's sake, money for God's sake. What a great Muso he was, no one better on the 11/16th spark plug socket or the medicine jar (White China)

Ironically the actor who told Bill Payne that he wanted to play Lowell George in a Little Feat movie, died the exact same way as Lowell, doing speedballs...John Belushi would of made an award-winning Lowell George. Those two were my absolute favorites... RIP Lowell & John you are dearly missed....

Never posted about anything like this before and maybe these are just ramblings never to be read by anyone. I always wondered why more didn't see the magic that we all see/saw in Lowell's and Little Feat's music. I'm also a huge Duane Allman and Frank Zappa fan all before I knew they collaborated at different times. But I gotta say there's something intimate and personal about loving Little Feats music as much as I do and I didn't have to share that love and passion with the whole world like if I was a nut about the Beatles or U2 or other mega stars. It's like, the passion lives with us in a small group of admirers and it felt like when I was a kid I knew Lowell and all the bandmates through their music and it was very personal. And, the memory of what that music meant to me and all of us is shared in a small group of really cool friends. One thing I've never seen: a negative comment or thumbs down about Lowell or Little Feat, who else can claim that?

a pure full talent .... lowell george r.i.p.

Wow, this was like two weeks before he died. Sad, and I still miss his genius.

Great channel! Long live the feat!

EXCELLENT CHANNEL - Thank you!

... and 14 days later LG was dead. The hole in my gut still exists.

Ha..." I don't sell records, I make them."

Success, well they're still playing his music and we're still listening all these years since he's been gone.

Lowell George - Genius and Great Guy

From what I remember...This was shortly before his death. Cool songs. Great guitarist. An American welsh wordsmith.

Was turned onto Feat at their 1st record, bought each thereafter as it came out. Fortunate enough to meet him when Feat played in Madison.

(I'd love to have one of those embroidered looking jean jackets w/I think it's the Sailing Shoes cover on the back as a group walked by me on a payphone in Rockville in '80-'81, but I could be wrong. It happened once before....

Amazing version of ‘China White’ at the end of the interview.

Lowell never had commercial success but he became a legend.

Really miss this man ....

Lowell seems like a super cool dude! I'm just discovering his music with Little Feat and just bought his "Thanks, I'll Eat Here" CD

RIP Lowell, I wish I was alive when you were

all the time people say they miss famous people that have passed away...i do miss lowell.

Lowell formed and led this Great band and we just saw them minus Lowell, Richie and Paul RIP. So after being blessed to see hear and experience Feat. One must wonder RRHOF?How can you not have LITTLE FEAT in the Hall?

I'll never understand why so much brilliance in the 60's and 70's burned to brightly and flamed out way too soon.

Damn, he passed two weeks later. RIP.

George was extremely talented, but I thought the interview was ponderous and boring. I’d be interested in hearing details about his having been a member of the Mothers of Invention for a spell in the late 60’s. I did manage to catch Little Feat once in concert. They opened for Traffic in 1974 at Boston Garden and rocked the place.

💔

Is there a good documentary on this genius?

Yees! Do you have any more interviews?

i'm loving this,but the chopped onions are getting to me, bad. gotta go now.

If we could we would change that day .

Little Feat had success even without much radio play. Radio is notorious for promoting superficial crap even though the 70's was the best time to go against the grain. Even the Grateful Dead didn't get any real exposure on radio. Truckin' and Casey Jones were the only two songs that I remember on radio back then. Who picked those two songs? Even the Dead didn't play them live often. Before the Internet, radio and TV were the way bands gained exposure, they didn't really do a good job educating the public on good meaningful music.

After hearing this...Had to put on one of my favourite Feat Discs - Holland 76’. Only sayin’✌🏼

Where else had they played - The Birchmere? I don't think it would be many more than that few. I listened to that Show All The Time driving across the Country or whatever. It was a little shaky - I REMEMBER Paul introduce themselves "Blues Busters- Comin' atcha!" It's engrained in my mind 'cause I listened to it weekly at least. The only thing I thought was stupid was Hodge doing a skat type yodeling Zoobadee zoobadah, yeeyodelodello-type stuff like Minnie the Moocher's Singer in the Blues BROTHERS. I can't recall his name this second but that general yodelling was a little unsettling to me. Other than that (& we're talking about early '80s- how many Shows as a Duet do you have that were before Adams'? It's not many & Paul w/a light colored Strat & stinging licks- zip!🎶 "Ah!" Hodge Acoustic sat to S-L of Paul.

Feat i love so

This must be his last interview, He died on July29, 1979.

Great to hear Lowell explain' the process'. The solo show's were great as was the solo album, but the thought of Lowell reuniting the 'feat' without Paul & Bill was far more exciting. The shame is the rest of the fella's continue to flog a dead horse(after Lowell/Richie's death) until it smells..

Little feat were stars to me, had seen them new years eve of 79 in Houston, one of my all time best concerts ( even though Jerry Jeff Walker was backing them up that night and he was drunk as hell on stage and sounded like crap)

I’ll echo Bonnie Raitt….. “I miss Little Feat like I miss being 10 years old.”

Fred Tackett put a pretty fair band together

Lowell has gone fishin

I wonder where he would of went with his career trajectory...I wonder if he would've of went more towards a Danny Lanois kinda of sound. Definitely a producer type perhaps

"and cocaine has robbed me blind"

Catch you on the other side of this life lowell where I'm sure as my name, jimi, Janis (bird song), jerry, Paul butterfield, pig pen, marc an tommy bolin, Otis Redding Johnny winter Stevie Ray Vaughan, duane allman (sky dog) greg allman, berry Oakley, john Bonham .........ect its one big fuckn party an concert.in my time in my time i will roll roll roll.

he hardly contributed to feats Hero album.

nicolette larson was awesome, even if only for that one great song, the first hit i recall....she was just too damn cute,- and obviously smart! and it must have been nice for her!

Another doing drugs down and out story. Sadness truly is a river of pain.

great musician George, very original....