Little Feat - Let It Roll

This one goes out to D, the biggest Little Feat fan that we know.

For all intensive purposes, there were two Little Feats.  The first version came out of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, and formed in the late 1960s.  This group was led by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Lowell George, and built a following in the 1970s.  They were the prototypical swamp rock act, best known for "Dixie Chicken."

Unfortunately, George's erratic behavior and drug use (and differing views as to the musical direction of the band) led to Little Feat's demise by 1979.  George made conflicting statements about whether he would re-form a new Little Feat or remain a solo act, but this was all rendered moot when he died of a heart attack later that year.  He was 34.

The remaining members of the group managed to release one last album (1979's Down on the Farm), at which point Little Feat officially broke up.  However, the now former bandmates remained in the industry, playing with other artists. In 1987, the surviving members re-formed the band, added a couple of new musicians, and set out to record an album.  This became the second version of Little Feat.

Their 1988 album, Let It Roll served to successfully relaunch the band and further grew their audience. While we don't recall seeing much of them on MTV, the songs were all over rock radio in 1988. For the blog, we went with the title cut off the LP.  Yes, the vintage hot rod is a little ZZ Top derivative, but the blending of cars and the band performing live mostly works, in our opinion. 

While Let It Roll was Little Feat's last top 40 album, the band retained their loyal fan base, and remains active (with a few lineup changes) to the present day.

Laura Branigan - Gloria

Long time ERV readers will know that we love to feature covers, especially when the remake is a big hit.  For instance, we have previously posted "Bette Davis Eyes," "I Love Rock 'n' Roll, " and "Mickey" - and a bunch more.  Yep, they're all covers (readers can use the Covers label to the right to see all of the videos in this category.)

"Gloria" is another song that fits - it was the single that launched Laura Branigan's career, and was her biggest hit as well.  Plus, we bet that most English-speaking readers have no idea that it is a cover of an Umberto Tozzi song.  In a bit of good fortune, the co-producer of Branigan's first LP, Greg Mathieson, was the keyboard player on the original version, and suggested a remake.

Laura Branigan would go on to become a pretty big pop star in the 1980s - all five of her albums released in that decade broke the top 100.  In addition, her first three LPs all reached #34 or higher, and she had seven top 40 singles, led by "Gloria," which peaked at #2 for three weeks in late 1982. Interestingly, (to me, at least) "Gloria" was kept out of the top spot by two different songs - Lionel Richie's "Truly" and the previously mentioned "Mickey," covered by Toni Basil.

The video for "Gloria" ... well, let's just say that the label did not spend a ton of money on it.  It's Branigan on a modestly decorated soundstage, lip-singing away.  Not surprisingly, we don't recall seeing the clip back in the day, although the song was all over the radio for a time.

Laura Branigan would remain active in the industry until her untimely death (from a brain aneurysm) in 2004.

The Umberto Tozzi version came out in 1979, and was a top 10 hit across several countries in Europe.