Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (sometimes abbreviated NGDB), also known as the Dirt Band, is an American band founded in Long Beach, California, in 1966. Since 2018, the band has consisted of Jeff Hanna and his son Jaime Hanna, both guitarists and vocalists, along with Jimmie Fadden (drums, harmonica, vocals), Bob Carpenter (keyboards, accordion, vocals), Ross Holmes (fiddle, mandolin, vocals), and Jim Photoglo (bass guitar, vocals).

Jeff Hanna and Fadden founded Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1966 with a lineup initially consisting of Bruce Kunkel, Ralph Barr, Les Thompson, and Jackson Browne, who quit early on and was replaced by longtime member John McEuen (vocals, guitar, banjo). The band had its first hit single in 1967 with "Buy for Me the Rain" on Liberty Records. Their earliest work featured jug band and traditional folk elements. In 1970, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had their biggest pop hit with a cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles". Their sound took on elements of soft rock in the latter half of the 1970s and early 1980s, including the hit singles "An American Dream" and "Make a Little Magic".

Starting in the early 1980s, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band began a shift toward country music, led off by the singles "Shot Full of Love" and "Dance Little Jean". By this point, the band consisted of Jeff Hanna, McEuen, Fadden, Carpenter, and Jimmy Ibbotson (bass guitar, vocals). This lineup recorded several country albums for Warner Records throughout the 1980s and charted multiple singles on Billboard Hot Country Songs. Of these, "Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)", "Modern Day Romance", and "Fishin' in the Dark" all went to number one, with the last becoming their signature song. After leaving Warner in the late 1980s, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band recorded for several other labels, including Universal, MCA Nashville, Rising Tide, and DreamWorks Records. They have collaborated with a number of artists, including Doc Watson, Linda Ronstadt, John Denver, and Steve Martin. In addition, Jeff Hanna co-wrote the song "Bless the Broken Road", the most successful version of which was recorded by Rascal Flatts.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is also known for three collaborative albums: Will the Circle Be Unbroken in 1972, Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two in 1989, and Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III in 2002. All three featured a large number of guests from folk, rock, country, and bluegrass. They have also won three Grammy Awards. Critics have found influences of country, pop, rock, bluegrass, and folk music in their sound.

History

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was founded in Long Beach, California, in 1966. Founding guitarist Jeff Hanna was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, but his family had moved to Long Beach four years prior. While in high school, he befriended guitarist Bruce Kunkel, and the two played in a local duo called the New Coast Two. As they wanted to form a larger group, the two began playing impromptu jam sessions at a music store called McCabe's Guitar Shop, located in Santa Monica. Through these performances, they recruited four other musicians. These were Jimmie Fadden, who at the time played washtub bass, harmonica, and guitar, along with Ralph Barr (guitar, clarinet), Les Thompson (guitar, mandolin), and Jackson Browne (guitar). All six members also served as vocalists. Browne quit the group after only a few months, and was replaced by John McEuen, who contributed on guitar, mandolin, banjo, and washtub bass. They briefly called themselves the Illegitimate Jug Band, due to their playing jug band music without actually having a member who played the jug. Soon afterward, they selected Nitty Gritty Dirt Band as a name, inspired by their observation that many bands at the time had names that they considered long and unusual, such as Strawberry Alarm Clock.

1967–1971: Early years

John's older brother William E. McEuen served as the band's manager, helping to book them as opening acts for artists such as Joan Baez. He also helped the band sign a contract with Liberty Records, which released their self-titled debut album in 1967. "Buy for Me the Rain" was released as a single from this project, and it reached number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another album for Liberty, Ricochet, followed later in 1967. After this album, Kunkel quit over creative differences in the band's sound, and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Chris Darrow, formerly a member of Kaleidoscope. Of their style at the time, Mary Campbell of the Associated Press noted their use of acoustic instruments and rudimentary traditional folk instruments such as washtub bass, kazoo, and comb and paper. She also noted that their clothing and song choices, such as a cover of "Teddy Bears' Picnic", reflected the music and mindset of the 1920s.