Little Feat Create Blues Magic With “Can't Be Satisfied”

Little Feat have just dropped the second track from this upcoming album Sam's Place, which is due out on May 17.

“You want to know what’s as fun as listening to Little Feat on Sam’s Place?” says Bill Payne of the acclaimed and iconic band LITTLE FEAT. “Watching the video of ‘Can’t Be Satisfied!’ You are brought into the studio with us. The smiles are real, the music kicks, and you can’t get much closer to the action than this!”

“Can’t Be Satisfied,” a rollicking cover of the classic Muddy Waters-written song, is the second offering from the jumping SAM’S PLACE (Hot Tomato Productions/MRI). This marks their first new studio album in 12 years; first-ever blues album; and the first one to feature linchpin conga player Sam Clayton on lead vocals on every song. It was filmed at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, TN and directed by Grant James and Jesse Lauter.

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.

“This song was one we played back-to-back for many years with ‘Hot Tamales,’” says Bill Payne about “Can’t Be Satisfied.”  “Tony Leone got hold of the rhythm track and gave it new life with a walking tempo. Yes, it’s a dark song with pistols in the face and the like, but there is a joy in the track, uplifting and impossible not to love.” The song features special guest Michael “The Bull” LoBue on harmonica.

“You can’t make a blues album without playing some Muddy Waters,” says Scott Sharrard, “and Little Feat has performed this on live shows over the years. What sets this rendition apart is Tony Leone's nod to Levon Helm with the drum groove. This arrangement takes you from Mississippi, up to Chicago and lands down in Arkansas, where both Fred Tackett and Levon Helm were born." 

“Can’t Be Satisfied” follows the album’s first single/video “You’ll Be Mine,” a cover of the Willie Dixon-written chestnut popularized by Howlin’ Wolf. Watch the video HERE and stream the song HERE, and pre-order/pre-save the album HERE. See the full track listing below and view the band’s extensive “Can’t Be Satisfied Tour” dates and ticket links HERE.

SAM’S PLACE is a joyously blues-soaked party. 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 was a happy vocalist. His 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.”

SAM’S PLACE scratches a deep itch. Sam added, “I'm very happy because I was never expecting anything like that. 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.” 

LITTLE FEAT will be busy this summer on the road. From touring with the Tedeschi Trucks Band to headline shows with The Wood Brothers, Los Lobos, Marc Broussard, Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel, The Steel Wheels, and Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, there will be plenty of chances to boogie with the band. For their Baltimore, MD show on June 14, LITTLE FEAT will perform their classic 1973 album, Feats Don’t Fail Me Now, in its entirety. Tickets are available HERE.

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.   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)  

About Little Feat

The members of Little Feat emerged from the pandemic with their sense of humor, chops, and collective joy in playing intact on their 2024 album Sam’s Place. Over the past three years, they’ve focused tours on their epic live album Waiting for Columbus and re-issues of some of their classic albums (Sailin’ Shoes, Dixie Chicken, and Waiting for Columbus). Audience response has been rapturous. The band builds on a deep, over 50-year history. Little Feat used a combination of elite musicianship and brilliant, idiosyncratic songwriting to create a repertoire that transcends all boundaries. California rock, funk, folk, jazz, country and rockabilly mixed with New Orleans swamp boogie led to a powerful sound that has kept the audience dancing for decades. Their groove – in songs like “Dixie Chicken,” “Spanish Moon,” “Fat Man in the Bathtub,” and “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now” is a continuous thread of excellence that embraces the qualities of exploration that make up Little Feat, its music, while honoring their brothers that began this journey decades ago: Lowell George, Richie Hayward, and Paul Barrere. Their legacy is honest and durable with no end in sight. It has always been about the songs and musicianship. They’re in top form now with Scott Sharrard on lead guitar/vox and Tony Leone on drums/vox, and with founder Bill Payne on keys/vox, Fred Tackett on guitars/vox, Kenny Gradney on bass, and Sam Clayton on percussion/vox.

Photo Credit: Fletcher Moore

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