Little Feat has dropped the single “You’ll Be Mine” off its first studio album in 12 years, called Sam’s Place due in May. The new record is a collection of fresh and freshly covered tracks, assembled by a beloved band known for bluesy rock licks and laid-back personality. And there are some new personalities added to the band.
The members of Little Feat 2024 are: Bill Payne, keyboards and vocals; Sam Clayton, percussion and vocals; Fred Tackett, guitars and vocals, Kenny Gradney, bass; Scott Sharrard, guitars and vocals; and Tony Leone, drums and vocals.
Their individual musical chops and collective chemistry light up the nine-track Sam’s Place, which was waxed at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, TN (August 2023), except for “Got My Mojo Working (Live),” recorded live at the Boulder Theatre in Boulder, CO (December 17, 2022). This is the first Little Feat album recorded with new members Sharrard and Leone.
Check out ‘You’ll Be Mine’ here:
The band’s longtime friend, the beloved Bonnie Raitt, provides vocals on the Muddy Waters gem “Long Distance Call,” a duet with Sam, and the album’s other special guests are Michael “Bull” LoBue on harmonica, Marc Franklin on trumpet, and Art Edmaiston on saxophone on select songs.
Little Feat emerged from the pandemic with their sense of humor, chops, and collective joy in playing intact—and their creativity has been renewed with Sam’s Place. The idea for the album started with Bill, but the whole band jumped in. They started working on songs at sound checks. Sam, Scott and Fred wrote a new song, “Milk Man.” Visiting backstage at a Feat show, Bonnie Raitt suggested the Howlin’ Wolf tune “You Will Be Mine.” Scott suggested “Why People Like That,” a Bobby Charles tune. Sam chose the Willy Dixon-penned “Don’t Go No Further,” a deep Muddy track. And they included a live version of “Got My Mojo Working.”
Scott had recorded in Memphis, and they eventually found their way to the second Phillips (the first was Sun Studios, where Elvis began his career) studio there, complete with Jerry Lee Lewis’s piano, which Bill noted “practically played itself.” Feat’s a rock band, but as Scott observed, at the end “the blues is home,” and they basically recorded it live in the studio, in the tradition. Their playing is at an all-time high, and Bill thought their musical conversation was “flawless.”
Sam’s own “Milk Man,” a song about his nephew, has lyrics from his wife, Joni. The duet with Bonnie on “Long Distance Call,” he humbly admitted, was classic. “We go good together, man.” “Last Night” was done in memory of Sam’s very good friend, the late Ed Bradley of Sixty Minutes. And “Why People Like That” was particularly satisfying. “I just like the way the slide sounds and everything. I knew Scott is a great slide player too, plus he is a great lead guitarist. And I know we would put our touch to it, the Little Feat touch. So we just sort of did it. Scott just adds a lot to it and he answers to what I’m singing.”
“I’m very happy because I was never expecting anything like that,” Clayton said. “I mean, I have wanted to, but I just wasn’t expecting it to come to fruition. It was a long wait, but it’s satisfying.”
Track listing for Sam’s Place:
1. Milkman- Written by Sam Clayton (ASCAP), Fred Tackett for Hoceanna Music (ASCAP), and Scott Sharrard for Brickyard Blues Music BMI
2. You’ll Be Mine – Written by Willie Dixon for Hoochie Coochie Music (BMI)
3. Long Distance Call – Written by Muddy Waters for Watertoons (BMI)
4. Don’t Go No Further – Written by Willie Dixon for Hoochie Coochie Music (BMI)
5. I Can’t Be Satisfied – Written by Muddy Waters for Watertoons (BMI)
6. Last Night – Written by Walter Jacobs for ARC Music (BMI)
7. Why People Like That – Written by Bobby Charles for Street People Songs (BMI)
8. Mellow Down Easy – Written by Willie Dixon for BMG Bumblebee (BMI)
9. Got My Mojo Working (Live) – Written by Preston Foster for Dar Music, Inc (BMI)
