Jackdawg amounted to a short-lived supergroup that never managed to advance beyond its initial stages. The lineup consisted of three established rock musicians—John McFee, formerly of the Doobie Brothers and Clover, handling guitar duties; Stu Cook, previously with Creedence Clearwater Revival, on bass; and Keith Knudsen, another Doobie Brothers alumnus, behind the drums. Emerging in the wake of Southern Pacific’s dissolution, the band took shape once McFee, Cook, and Knudsen elected to keep collaborating, while keyboardist Kurt Howell struck out on a solo path. Work began on material at McFee’s own Lizard Rock Studio in Solvang, CA, during 1990, yet those sessions remained unreleased at the time. Following Knudsen’s passing in 2005, McFee contacted SonicPast Music—the imprint established and operated by Joey Stec, one-time Blues Magoos member—to explore issuing the recordings, which eventually surfaced as the self-titled Jackdawg album on that label in 2009.
