Paul Barrere dead aged 71 – Little Feat singer and guitarist dies from liver disease complications
Little Feat rocker Paul Barrere died aged 71 from liver disease complications, the band confirmed today.
The American singer and guitarist died in UCLA hospital after almost five decades making music.
Paying tribute to the Skin It Back songwriter, the band said: “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.”
The musician had fallen sick before the band’s current tour – forced to pull out of performing.
And he tragically died the day before the tour was expected to end.
The band added: “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.”
He leaves his widow Pam along with children Gabriel, Genevieve, and Gillian.
ROCKER’S LIFE
Barrere, who was born in Burbank California in 1948, had joined the band in 1972, three years after it was created by fellow musician Lowell George.
He then went on to write songs include Feats Don’t Fail Me Now and All That You Dream.
In 1994, he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C but managed to keep in under control.
Almost 20 years later in 2015, he was diagnosed with liver cancer.
MOST READ IN NEWS
During his music career, he had performed with Bob Dylan and also written music with Roger Cole.
Blues singer Bonnie Raitt paid tribute to Paul, saying: “Oh my God. I just heard about the passing of another dear friend, Little Feat’s Paul Barrere. A brilliant guitarist, singer and songwriter—a cornerstone of one of the greatest bands of all time.
“I’m glad he is free of pain and may he rest in peace. I send my deep love and condolences to his family, bandmates and friends. We will hold him in our hearts and celebrate his life and music always.”