Willin'

Blues, R&B, country, funk and rock and roll. Little Feat was all of those things. While the band continues to perform to this day, the version with co-founder Lowell George was, for me, the definitive edition Little Feat. Tragically, George died of a massive heart attack at the age of 34, 30 years ago this week - June 29, after a solo concert in Washington, D.C.

George was a member of the Mothers of Invention before starting Little Feat and often told the story of being fired by Frank Zappa for trying to get the Mothers to do a song he had written. Zappa, not a drug user, didn't like the drug references in the song. Many have covered the song over the years but few have matched Little Feat's version of Willin'. Here's a performance of the song from 1977...



I been warped by the rain, driven by the snow
I'm drunk and dirty, don't you know
And I'm still
Willin'

And I was out on the road late at night
And I seen my pretty Alice in every head light
Alice
Dallas Alice

Chorus
And I've been from Tuscon to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed

And if you give me
Weed, whites, and wine
And you show me a sign
I'll be willin'
To be movin'

I've been kicked by the wind, robbed by the sleet
Had my head stoved in, but I'm still on my feet
And I'm still
Willin'

Now I smuggled some smokes and folks from Mexico
Baked by the sun, every time I go to Mexico
And I'm still

[chorus]