The genius of Lowell George is the stuff of legends. The Little Feat frontman penned some of the band’s most iconic, yet unconventional tunes—songs that came to life with unmatched wordplay and an incomparable spirit. George was an integral piece to the blues-rock outfit, but also to the songwriting canon as a whole.
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Here are 5 songs you didn’t know Lowell George wrote for other artists.
[RELATED: Review: Little Feat’s Live Classic ‘Waiting For Columbus’ Gets A Big Overhaul]
1. “Face of Appalachia” – John Sebastian
Written by Lowell George and John Sebastian
Coal trains wailing, banjos frailing / Sounds escaping through the night / But the face of Appalachia was there / In that grey apartment light, sings John Sebastian in his 1974 tune, “Face of Appalachia.”
Sebastian, co-founder of The Lovin’ Spoonful, co-wrote the twanging lullaby alongside George and recorded it for his solo album, Tarzana Kid.
2. “Heartache” – Valerie Carter
Written by Lowell George and Ivan Ulz
Heartache find another place to be / I’m tired of being your best friend / Look to another for your companion / And when you do my pain will end, plays the striking Valerie Carter song, “Heartache”
George, with the help of songwriter Ivan Ulz, wrote the 1977 tune, which appeared on Carter’s solo debut, Just A Stone’s Throw Away. A burgeoning singer-songwriter, Carter was taken under George’s wind after they met.
3. “Love Needs a Heart” – Jackson Browne
Written by Lowell George, Jackson Browne, and Valerie Carter
Love needs a heart and I need to find / If loves needs a heart like mine, Jackson Browne sings in the 1977 tune, “Love Needs a Heart.”
Appearing on Browne’s Running on Empty, the melancholy tune was crafted by George together with Browne and the aforementioned Valerie Carter. Carter would later record her own version of “Love Needs a Heart.”
4. “Truck Stop Girl” – The Byrds
Written by Lowell George and Bill Payne
He was the kind of man, do all he could / Above all he had integrity / But he was so young and on a ten city run / In love with a truck stop girl, The Byrds croak out “Truck Stop Girl.”
Written by George with Little Feat bandmate Bill Payne, “Truck Stop Girl” was first recorded by The Byrds in 1970. Little Feat would drop their own version a few months later in December of that year.
5. “Willin'” – Johnny Darrell
Written by Lowell George
I been warped by the rain / Driven by the snow / I’m drunk and dirty, don’t you know / And I’m still… willin’
Did you know Little Feat was not the first band to release their iconic Lowell George-penned “Willin'” to the world? The tune was first recorded by country artist Johnny Darrell, releasing the song in May 1970. Like “Truck Stop Girl,” George’s band, Little Feat, would release their famed version that December.
Photo by Richard McCaffrey/ Michael Ochs Archive/ Getty Images
