# "Almost Famous" - Who played the Stillwater music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961 "2008-04-04T18:26:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/1 "2008-04-04T18:26:03Z")
I thought that Stillwater was entirely made up by Cameron Crowe for the movie _Almost Famous_. But apparently there really was a Stillwater whose music Crowe licensed. According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stillwater), however, there was a real 1970s band called Stillwater whose works Crowe licensed for the movie, but ended up not using. Instead, the “Stillwater” music was written by Nancy Wilson. So, looking at the movie soundtrack, there’s a song called “Fever Dog” credited to Stillwater" and composed by Russell Hammond (the character played by Billy Crudup). Who really did play “Fever Dog” for the soundtrack? I find it hard to believe that it was the actors in the movie. And was it composed by Nancy Wilson or not? ---
**Author:** ![AlmondJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@AlmondJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlmondJoy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/2 "2008-04-04T18:39:22Z")
I do believe that Nancy Wilson composed the Stillwater music. But I also could only find that Fever Dog was composed by Russell Hammond. I wonder what the credits at the end of the film say? odd ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/3 "2008-04-04T18:40:23Z")
Wiki credits the Stillwater songs to Crowe, Wilson and Peter Frampton. I could swear the entry used to say that the band actually played its own music and only Jason Lee’s voice was replaced by someone else, but that’s not in there. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/4 "2008-04-04T19:20:55Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stillwater), however, there was a real 1970s band called Stillwater whose works Crowe licensed for the movie, but ended up not using. Instead, the “Stillwater” music was written by Nancy Wilson. [/QUOTE] I think Wikipedia is incorrect on that. Stillwater was entirely fictional. See Roger Ebert’s Movie Answer Man [column](http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20011216/ANSWERMAN/112160306/1023) from December 16, 2001 where he replied to someone who believed the band to be real. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/5 "2008-04-04T19:28:58Z")
Crowe’s answer is incomplete. [Here is the AllMusic Guide page for Stillwater](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gpfyxq95ldde~T1), and [here is its Wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stillwater_%28band%29). > [@](#): > > The ‘Almost Famous’ Stillwater from Troy, MO is actually a composite of four or five bands I toured with back in the early 1970s- a little lynyrd skynyrd, a lot of the Allman Brothers, some Eagles, some Neil Young, and a large dose of Led Zeppelin. There was no band from Troy, Missouri, called Stillwater. But there was a Stillwater, and it turns out the band included a semi-famous harmonica player named Jimmy Hall. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/6 "2008-04-04T21:06:57Z")
But this is beside the point. It seems pretty clear that the credits on the album are fictitious. The Stillwater featured in the movie was not a real group so it could not have recorded a song. And there is no Russell Hammond, so he couldn’t have written “Fever Dog.” Well, presumably, anyway. Who were the musicians and singers who actually recorded “Fever Dog” and who was the composer of the work (Nancy Wilson?)? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/7 "2008-04-04T21:18:24Z")
Pulled From IMDb’s credits: Music Department Jon Bayless … additional musician Danny Bramson … music supervisor James Eric … music playback operator Peter Frampton … additional musician Todd Homme … executive in charge of music Carlton Kaller … music editor Gordon Kennedy … additional musician Mike McCready … additional musician Gary Raymond … music playback mixer Ben Smith … additional musician Nancy Wilson … music producer: original songs Peter Frampton … musician: Stillwater music (uncredited) Bud Raymond … music playback assistant (uncredited) Greg Townley … music engineer (uncredited) Elsewhere, IMDb says Marti Friedriksen was Jason Lee’s singing voice. Nancy Wilson gets the sole “original music” credit. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/8 "2008-04-04T21:24:37Z")
Cool. Thanks, Marley! ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/9 "2008-04-04T21:25:32Z")
It’s been awhile since I watched them, but I recall it being clear from the DVD extras on the AF director’s cut (the “Untitled” version) that Nancy Wilson was the composer of Stillwater’s music. She even sang the demo version of “Fever Dog” that Marti Friedriksen recorded for the film. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/10 "2008-04-05T03:56:01Z")
I used to have a song by Stillwater - it came from an album called “The South’s Greatest Hits”. It was actually a pretty cool song, called “Mind Bender” That was back in the 1970’s. So Stillwater most definitely existed. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/11 "2008-04-05T04:23:46Z")
Crowe wasn’t lying, but he left out one of the bands that inspired Stillwater: King Crimson, believe it or not. Crimson was the real life band that Crowe observed trading a groupie for a case of beer. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/12 "2008-04-05T08:55:40Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] But this is beside the point. It seems pretty clear that the credits on the album are fictitious. The Stillwater featured in the movie was not a real group so it could not have recorded a song. [/QUOTE] Well, neither were Spinal Tap, the Rutles, the Commitments, the Monkees or Gorillaz… ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-famous-who-played-the-stillwater-music/443961/13 "2008-04-05T11:04:31Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] Well, neither were Spinal Tap, the Rutles, the Commitments, the Monkees or Gorillaz… [/QUOTE] Hm. Define “real” in this context. I don’t think any Motown act qualifies by your definition, but shoving all of them in with Spinal Tap, the Commitments, and the Rutles seems very wrong to me. In fact, I’m going to disagree with you outright: The Monkees and Gorillaz qualify as real regardless of who put them together, stage personas, and music video/stage performance technique. There is no consistent way you can call them fake without also calling David Bowie, the Who, and the Beatles fake as well.