After performing a variety of shows in the local area and recording a number of demos with producer John Goodmanson, Harvey Danger released their debut album, Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?

and "Flagpole Sitta" as a single in April 1998[3] to widespread commercial success, with the album eventually becoming certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999.

[4] However, the band grew increasingly uncomfortable with their association with "Flagpole Sitta" and their perceived status as a one-hit wonder, and sought to distance themselves from the song and their early lo-fi sound with their subsequent musical output.

[9][10] Although its sole single "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo" became a minor hit,[11] the album performed very poorly commercially, and its failure led to the band breaking up in April 2001.

[1][15] On May 28, 2009, Harvey Danger announced that they had amicably decided to disband, and the band played its final show at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle on August 29, 2009.

[18] Harvey Danger began in 1992 with University of Washington classmates Jeff Lin and Aaron Huffman deciding "it might be fun to start a band."

Lin and Huffman played house parties and bars as a duo under the Harvey Danger name until 1993, when they invited Evan Sult to be their drummer.

[19] The foursome played their first show on April 21, 1994 at the now-defunct Lake Union Pub; Sult and Nelson, both under 21, were only permitted entry during the set.

Shortly before taking January 1998 off to contemplate their future, Nelson gave a copy of Merrymakers to KNDD DJ Marco Collins.

The band toured extensively from March through December 1998, playing headlining and support gigs with some of the most popular artists of the year and appearing at many radio festivals.

Attempts to release the album on then-fledgling indie label Barsuk Records fell through due to legal complications, a tour with the Pretenders fell through due to lack of label support, and, just when the band was about to give up, newly reorganized London-Sire Records released King James Version on September 12, 2000.

Reviews were strong, but buzz was almost nonexistent: sales of the album were slow, and the single "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo" performed poorly on radio and MTV.

During the hiatus Jeff Lin returned to school, Evan Sult relocated to Chicago and joined the band Bound Stems and Aaron Huffman formed the group Love Hotel.

Sean Nelson recorded and toured with The Long Winters, the group formed by former Harvey Danger live member John Roderick, and worked on solo material, sometimes with Lin and Huffman (actually recording several unreleased songs, among them covers of songs written by Harry Nilsson for a future release entitled Nelson Sings Nilsson, eventually released in 2019 without Lin and Huffman's contributions).

In 2004, Nelson, Huffman, and Lin entered a studio together for the first time in three years to record two new song ideas, with Nada Surf's Ira Elliot accompanying on drums.

Within two months of release, the album had been downloaded 100,000 times, while the first pressing of physical copies (packaged with a disc of bonus material) had nearly sold out.

On July 25, 2006, Olympia-based label Kill Rock Stars re-released Little by Little... with a slightly altered track listing (songs on the bonus disc and main album swapped places).

On May 28, 2009, the band announced, "After 15 years, three albums, hundreds of shows, and far more twists and turns than we ever imagined possible, we've decided to put Harvey Danger to rest.

[34] In 2011, Harvey Danger released The Dead Sea Scrolls B-side collection and final single "The Show Must Not Go On" for free on their website.

re-issue LP features new artwork, designed by Huffman, Sult and Nelson, using the iconic house from the original cover art now updated to reflect the passage of time, now surrounded by freeways and skyscrapers.