LOS ANGELES — Richie Hayward, the drummer and a founding member of Little Feat, a celebrated rock band that arrived on the music scene in Los Angeles with its distinctively eclectic sound in the early 1970s, has died. He was 64.
Hayward, who had liver cancer, died Thursday of complications from pneumonia in a hospital near Vancouver, British Columbia, said Bridget Nolan, a publicist for the band.
“He was a great drummer, and he was very much integral to Little Feat’s sound,” said singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, who first met Hayward about 40 years ago. “It’s hard to imagine another drummer making that music because it’s very inventive.”
Formed in 1969 — its original members including singer-songwriter and guitarist Lowell George, keyboardist Bill Payne, bassist Roy Estrada and Hayward — Little Feat became known for its mix of rock, country, blues, folk, jazz and funk.
“Through its first five albums, Little Feat has been thought of as a cult band, as influential musicians’ musicians and as one of Warner Bros. Records’ ‘prestige acts,’ ” Richard Cromelin, former Los Angeles Times pop music writer, wrote in 1977. “Critical praise has been lavish, particularly in England where the L.A.-based band is regularly hailed as the premier American group of the decade and major rock stars like Elton John proclaim its brilliance.”
And yet, Cromelin wrote, “the cash registers have been excruciatingly silent.”
A year ago, Hayward announced that he had been diagnosed with liver disease. His last public performance was July 11, when he sat in with Little Feat at the Vancouver Island Music Fest.
“He’s really been a beacon to a whole generation of younger drummers,” said Browne, who performed with other musicians at one of the benefit concerts held to help pay for Hayward’s medical bills. “He was really loved; he will be missed.”
