Paul Barrere

Let’s rewind to November 25, 1976, on Thanksgiving Eve. The iconic group, The Band, were joined by Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Dr. John, to name a few. This was going to be the official “Farewell Show” in San Francisco (Winterland Ballroom) for the Canadian/American quintet: Helm/Danko/Robertson/Hudson/Manuel.

I will leave it to others to memorialize, to exalt into the heavens someone who wouldn’t have wanted it. Paul Barrere was my band mate, my friend, someone I leaned on and occasionally pushed away. We spent a good measure of our lives engaged in the art of making and playing music with a band that could have only been conjured in a dream. But it was all too real.

Certain casual fans of the Creole Rock Granddaddy Jamband Little Feat may be under the false impression that the band’s true color died along with founding guitarist, singer, de-facto bandleader Lowell George in 1979.

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