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Biography
Currently Touring:
Celebrating their Golden (50th) Anniversary together, the iconic and profoundly influential Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, often cited as a catalyst for an entire movement in Country Rock and American Roots Music, continues to add to their legendary status.
With multi-platinum and gold records, strings of top ten hits such as "Fishin' In The Dark" and "Mr. Bojangles", multiple Grammy, IBMA, CMA Awards and nominations, the band's accolades continue to accumulate.
Their groundbreaking "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" album has been inducted into the U.S. Library of Congress as well as the Grammy Hall of Fame. NGDB’s recording of "Mr. Bojangles" was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2010.In 2014 "Fishin' In the Dark" was certified platinum for digital downloads by the RIAA.
Today, NGDB (Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden, Bob Carpenter, John McEuen) continue their non-stop touring in their 50th year together. Recent tour stops included Stagecoach, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and many more. The plans for their 50th Anniversary will be extensive! On September 14th, 2015 they played to a Sold out Crowd at The Historic Ryman Auditorium with some close friends to film a 50th Anniversary Special to air on PBS starting March of 2016.
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Biography:
Formed in 1965 in California, US by two college students, Jeff Hanna (guitars, vocals) and Bruce Kenkel (guitar, washtub bass), the folk duo soon expanded their act into a six-piece, joined by Ralph Barr (guitar, washtub bass), Les Thompson (vocals, mandolin, bass, guitar, banjo, percussion), Jimmie Fadden (harmonica, vocals, drums, percussion) and John McEuen (banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, vocals). With the rising folk-rock scene of Southern California, US, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fit well within the scene, finding a record contract with Liberty Records in 1967, then releasing their self-titled debut album in April of that year.
Just seven months later, their second full-length, "Ricochet," arrived, finding widespread critical acclaim yet it failed to prove a commercial success. In an attempt to change their sound, the band moved to electronic instruments, with Kunkel leaving over a dispute abut the band's direction, being replaced by Chris Darrow (guitar, fiddle). Two unsuccessful album attempts followed yet, after a lineup change, the band was to find huge success in 1970 with the single, "Mr Bojangles," a cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's song. The band found a huge following, whilst pushing their music to more country-oriented sounds, with the album "All the Good Times" in 1972.
Recorded in Nashville, their next album was to be a collection of traditional country tracks, recorded alongside country legends, Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs, Mother Maybelle Carter amongst others. 1973's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" became a huge success, selling in the millions after appealing to country, bluegrass and rock fans alike. The band continued to find success throughout the 70s, although they moved to a more mainstream sound, despite going through several lineup changes. In 1984, they even made headlines for being the first American rock band to tour the Soviet Union.
The band returned to its country roots in the 90s, moving to MCA/Universal Records for the release of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 2," which featured artists including Johnny Cash, Chris Hillman and Ricky Skaggs. The album was a return to form, earning the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band a Grammy Award for 'Best Country Vocal Performance,' as well as the Country Music Association's 'Album of the Year Award.' The band continued to move further towards country and bluegrass influences throughout the following decade, recording several albums and touring regularly. In 2009, they offered fans a new album of recorded music, "Speed For Life," which captured the band's spontaneous, spirited sound which had made them such a success.
Live reviews
There is so much to be said about seeing the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in concert. These guys absolutely rock the house and take it down. Their shows are nothing short of the party of your dreams, complete with the best live music you will ever hear.
I saw them perform at a music festival in California. There was a huge mix of audience members, from people in their 60’s, to youngsters about 10 years old, and everyone was having a fantastic time. One of their best known covers “Mr. Bojangles” is one that everyone wants to hear, and they don’t disappoint at all. They also perform their first-ever hit, “Buy For Me The Rain”, and it sounds just as good now as it did when it first hit the charts. They also do an outstanding over of the Bob Dylan song, “You Ain’t Going Nowhere”. To say it is great doesn’t even begin to do it justice. They perform a lot from the last album they released in 2009, which was “Speed of Life”. My favorites from that are “Brand New Heartache” and “The Resurrection”. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band does a fantastic job of making people who love rock-n-roll fall in love with country, and those country addicts fall in love with rock-n-roll. Their albums are great, being seeing them live just makes you want to see more of them.
Dirt Band concert was incredible. These guys were on last night. Jeff Hanna's humorous comments were really great between songs. The band was scorching hot on an extended version of Rippling Waters. After the show, some band members, especially Jeff, stayed on stage and signed autographs. After 50 years the band has not lost a step
Great show! The Band seemed to be having a great time and the crowd was really in to it. They played a wide verity of music from the hits to cover. They closed with The Weight. The Big Top is a perfect music venue that adds to the fun for both the band and the patrons.
Great concert! Still love the music and they’re great fun to watch. Old stuff still my favorite- who knew Ripplin’ Water was such a jam song!! Jamie and Ross added great sound to the band, looks like the Dirt band future. I can’t wait to see them again.
Awesome.
They have been together 50 years!
Hackenshaw Boys great opening act for an hour. Intermission. Two hours of NGDB. One helluvan evening.
And what variety! Old stuff, very old stuff, new stuff, covers ... Wow!