Little Feat – In Concert From Boston – WBCN-FM – October 14, 1988 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Paul Barrere is gone. He left earlier today. The announcement was made via Little Feat’s website:
It is with great sorrow that Little Feat must announce the passing of our brother guitarist, Paul Barrere, this morning at UCLA Hospital. We ask for your kindest thoughts and best wishes to go out especially to his widow Pam and children Gabriel, Genevieve, and Gillian, and to all the fans who were his extended family.Paul auditioned for Little Feat as a bassist when it was first being put together—in his words, “as a bassist I make an excellent guitarist”—and three years later joined the band in his proper role on guitar. Forty-seven years later, he was forced to miss the current tour, which will end tomorrow, due to side effects from his ongoing treatment for liver disease.He promised to follow his doctor’s orders, get back in shape, and rock on the beach at the band’s annual gathering in Jamaica in January 2020. “Until then,” he wrote, “keep your sailin’ shoes close by…if I have my way, you’re going to need them!”As the song he sang so many times put it, he was always “Willin’,” but it was not meant to be. Paul, sail on to the next place in your journey with our abiding love for a life always dedicated to the muse and the music. We are grateful for the time we have shared.Yours in music,Little Feat: Bill Payne, Sam Clayton, Fred Tackett, Kenny Gradney, and Gabe Ford.
As way of tribute and a loving reminder of just how pivotal a band Little Feat were, and how they continue to evoke that eternal spirit of everything that Rock has stood for over the decades, here is a two hour concert, recorded in Boston and broadcast live over WBCN-FM on October 14, 1988 – complete and electric -just the way Paul Barrere will always be remembered. How fortunate we were to have seen them almost from the beginning and how they consistently brought the message home of how truly special they were and will always be.
The music will live on – crank it up and hoist a few (alcohol optional).
