Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | |
|---|---|
 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 2024 (L-R: Jimmie Fadden, Jaime Hanna, Jeff Hanna, Jim Photoglo, Ross Holmes, and Bob Carpenter) | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Origin | Long Beach, California, United States |
| Genres | |
| Works | Nitty Gritty Dirt Band discography |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | Jeff Hanna Jimmie Fadden Bob Carpenter Jaime Hanna Ross Holmes Jim Photoglo |
| Past members | Seelist of members |
| Website | www |
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (sometimes abbreviatedNGDB), also known asthe Dirt Band, is an American band founded inLong Beach, California, in 1966. Since 2018, the band has consisted ofJeff 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), andJim 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, andJackson Browne, who quit early on and was replaced by longtime memberJohn McEuen (vocals, guitar, banjo). The band had its first hit single in 1967 with "Buy for Me the Rain" onLiberty Records. Their earliest work featuredjug band and traditionalfolk elements. In 1970, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had their biggest pop hit with a cover ofJerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles". Their sound took on elements ofsoft 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 towardcountry 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, andJimmy Ibbotson (bass guitar, vocals). This lineup recorded several country albums forWarner Records throughout the 1980s and charted multiple singles onBillboardHot 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 theirsignature song. After leaving Warner in the late 1980s, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band recorded for several other labels, includingUniversal,MCA Nashville,Rising Tide, andDreamWorks Records. They have collaborated with a number of artists, includingDoc Watson,Linda Ronstadt,John Denver, andSteve Martin. In addition, Jeff Hanna co-wrote the song "Bless the Broken Road", the most successful version of which was recorded byRascal 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, andWill the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III in 2002. All three featured a large number of guests from folk, rock, country, andbluegrass. They have also won threeGrammy Awards. Critics have found influences of country, pop, rock, bluegrass, and folk music in their sound.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was founded inLong Beach, California, in 1966. Founding guitaristJeff Hanna was born and raised inDetroit, Michigan, but his family had moved to Long Beach four years prior.[1] While in high school, he befriended guitarist Bruce Kunkel, and the two played in a local duo called the New Coast Two.[2] As they wanted to form a larger group, the two began playing impromptu jam sessions at a Santa Monica music store called McCabe's Guitar Shop.[3] Through these performances, they recruited four other musicians. These were Jimmie Fadden, who at the time playedwashtub bass, harmonica, and guitar, along with Ralph Barr (guitar, clarinet), Les Thompson (guitar,mandolin), andJackson Browne (guitar). All six members also served as vocalists. Browne quit the group after only a few months,[4] and was replaced byJohn McEuen, who contributed on guitar, mandolin, banjo, and washtub bass.[2] They briefly called themselves the Illegitimate Jug Band, due to their playingjug band music without actually having a member who played thejug. Soon afterward, they selected Nitty Gritty Dirt Band as a name,[1] inspired by their observation that many bands at the time had names that they considered long and unusual, such asStrawberry Alarm Clock.[5]
John's older brotherWilliam E. McEuen served as the band's manager, helping to book them as opening acts for artists such asJoan Baez. He also helped the band sign a contract withLiberty Records, which released theirself-titled debut album in 1967.[1] "Buy for Me the Rain" was released as a single from this project, and it reached number 45 on theBillboard Hot 100.[6] 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-instrumentalistChris Darrow, formerly a member ofKaleidoscope.[7][2][8] Of their style at the time, Mary Campbell of theAssociated Press noted their use of acoustic instruments and rudimentary traditional folk instruments such as washtub bass,kazoo, andcomb 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.[9]
Their third album, 1968'sRare Junk, was their first to feature electric guitar, electric bass, and drums.[2] Although Browne had left by this point, they covered his "These Days" on it.Johnny Sandlin contributed on drums.[10] Bob Talbert ofThe State praised the album for the variety of instruments used, noting that said variety allowed influences ofjazz andcountry music on top of the group's existing jug band sound.[11] A year later, Liberty released a live album titledAlive, recorded at theTroubadour inWest Hollywood, California.[12] That same year, the band contributed the song "Hand Me Down That Can o' Beans" to the soundtrack of the moviePaint Your Wagon, starringLee Marvin.[2][13] The band briefly broke up in late 1969.[8] During this hiatus, Hanna and Darrow briefly founded a country rock band called the Corvettes, who recorded one session withMichael Nesmith ofthe Monkees as producer.[14]
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band reunited in 1970, although Darrow and Barr declined to rejoin. Both were replaced byJimmy Ibbotson, who played bass guitar, drums, piano, and accordion.[1] After reuniting, the band issued its fourth Liberty albumUncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy that same year. Colin Larkin, in theVirgin Encyclopedia of Country Music, wrote that this album marked a shift in their sound from "jokey elements" to a morecountry rock sound.[8] It featured a cover ofJerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles". Their version of the song was their first major hit, reaching number nine on the Hot 100.[2] Also charting from the album were covers ofKenny Loggins's "House at Pooh Corner" and Nesmith's "Some of Shelly's Blues".[6][8] Richie Unterberger of AllMusic wrote of this album, "The group moved into a more accessible rock-oriented fusion of country, bluegrass, pop, and rock & roll, relying primarily on smartly chosen covers...Few bands had incorporated instruments more commonly associated with country and bluegrass, particularly mandolin and banjo, as comfortably into a rock setting prior to this release, and their well-crafted harmonies help put the songs over for those not-steeped-in backwoods sounds."[15]
Liberty Records merged withUnited Artists Records in 1972. Their first project for this label was 1972'sAll the Good Times. The album had further cover songs on it, includingHank Williams's "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" andDoug Kershaw's "Diggy Liggy Lo",[1] as well as another Jackson Browne cover, "Jamaica Say You Will".[16] The former of these was issued as a single, but peaked in the lower end of the Hot 100.[6]Hartford Courant writer Henry McNulty found the cover songs superior to the original cuts on the album, but criticized the inclusion of fake applause between tracks.[16]
Also in 1972, the band traveled toNashville, Tennessee, to record the albumWill the Circle Be Unbroken. This was a collaborative three-disc album featuring a number of country andbluegrass artists, such asRoy Acuff,Maybelle Carter,Earl Scruggs, andDoc Watson.[2][1] Writing forThe Los Angeles Times, Robert Hillburn thought that the band showed appreciation for the music of the collaborators, and that the album would appeal to music fans who did not like the then-contemporaryNashville sound.[17] The album also accounted for Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's first entries on theBillboardHot Country Songs charts: a cover of Hank Williams's "I Saw the Light" and the original "Grand Ole Opry Song", respectively featuring guest vocals from Roy Acuff andJimmy Martin.[18] Following the commercial success ofWill the Circle Be Unbroken, they began touring across the United States and internationally. McEuen also began recording as a solo artist at this point, despite staying a member of the band.[1] Larkin noted that critical reception ofWill the Circle Be Unbroken "played an important role in breaking down mistrust between the country's establishment and the emerging 'long hair' practitioners."[8] Similarly, Watson later attributed the album's success to renewed interest in his music, particularly among fans of rock music who did not typically listen to folk and bluegrass.[19] The "I Saw the Light" cover accounted for their firstGrammy Award nomination, in the category ofBest Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal; a year later, the album itself was nominated in the same category.[20] In 1997, the project became their first album to be certified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[21]
Their next album for United Artists was 1974'sStars and Stripes Forever. By this point, Thompson had left, as well, leaving the band as a quartet.[2] A cover ofJohnny Horton's "The Battle of New Orleans" charted from this project.[6] The album, composed of both live and studio recordings, also featured interview segments by fiddle playerVassar Clements. Bruce Eder wrote that these elements made the album "more than its money's worth" and capable of showing their mix of country and rock influences.[22] A year later, they releasedSymphonion Dream, led off by a cover ofthe Everly Brothers's "All I Have to Do Is Dream".[2][6] The album featured guest contributions fromLinda Ronstadt,Leon Russell, and actorGary Busey. Eder found influences ofpsychedelic rock and bluegrass in the instrumentation, highlighting the instrumentals, as well as in the other cover songs on the album such asHank Williams's "Hey, Good Lookin".[23] Ibbotson left the band after this album, after which point John Cable and Jackie Clark joined.[24] These two alternated as bassists and guitarists.[2] Soon after they joined, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band toured in theSoviet Union.[2] TheUnited States Department of State oversaw the tour, which lasted for 28 days.[25] This was followed by their first greatest-hits package,Dirt, Silver and Gold, also in 1976.[2]
In 1978, both Clark and Cable left, and the group shortened its name to the Dirt Band.[2] McEuen said that the name change was due to disc jockeys not being comfortable with the longer name.[26] Conversely, music writer Tom Roland attributed the name change to Chuck Morris, who had taken over as the band's manager due to William E. McEuen becoming overwhelmed by the role.[27] Also according to John McEuen, Clark left voluntarily, while he believes that Hanna "got rid" of Cable because he felt "threatened" by Cable's songwriting ability.[28] Joining Hanna, John McEuen, and Fadden as members were drummer Merel Bergante, bassist Richard Hathaway, and Al Garth, who played multiple instruments including saxophone and keyboards.[2][29] The first release under the shortened name was 1978'sThe Dirt Band.[30] "In for the Night" reached the lower regions of the Hot 100 as a single from this project.[6]Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic considered the album to mark a shift in sound to asoft rock style. He thought the songs on the album were consistent in quality, but also that it would not appeal to fans of their earlier works.[30] Also during 1978, the band appeared under the pseudonym the Toot Uncommons as backing musicians on comedian and actorSteve Martin's novelty hit single "King Tut". This appearance was due to William E. McEuen serving as producer on the track.[2]
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Their second album as the Dirt Band was 1979'sAn American Dream. The album'stitle track, written byRodney Crowell, was released as a single in 1980.[6] The song featured a backing vocal fromLinda Ronstadt.[2] It accounted for their second-highest Hot 100 peak of 13, and was also their first appearance on theBillboard country music charts since 1973.[18] During the release of this album, Michael Buono took over for Bergante on drums, while Bob Carpenter joined as keyboardist.[31][32] Next was 1980'sMake a Little Magic. Featuring backing vocals fromNicolette Larson, its title track was a number 25 hit on the Hot 100.[6] Ken Paulson of theFort Myers, Florida,News Press noted that, unlike their previous albums, it contained only one cover song; specifically,Cidny Bullens's "Anxious Heart". He opined that by focusing more on original material, the album showed the band members' strengths as songwriters and performers, and considered it their best album yet.[33]
After this album,EMI eliminated the United Artists label and reopened Liberty Records, transferring them back to that label after a decade. Their first release upon returning to Liberty was 1981'sJealousy. Most of the members wrote the songs on the album by themselves, and Hanna co-produced the album. Also by this point, Vic Mastrionni had become the band's drummer.[34] "Fire in the Sky" was released as a single.[6] The title track was, as well, but it did not chart.[34] The album featured guest vocals fromKenny Loggins. An uncredited review in the New JerseyDaily Record panned the album's soft rock sound and lack of variety between tracks, as well as the songs on which Carpenter sang lead vocals.[35] Likewise, Erlewine said that they "never quite mustered" the soft rock sound of the album, and criticized many of the songs for lackinghooks.[36]
In the early 1980s, the band reverted its name to Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.[37] This coincided with a membership change: Ibbotson rejoined in 1981 after a five-year hiatus, while Fadden began playing drums in addition to his existing role as vocalist and harmonica player. At the time, the other members of the quintet were Hanna, McEuen, and Carpenter.[38] The first release to be successful on the country charts was "Shot Full of Love", which went to number 19 on the Hot Country Songs charts in 1983. This was followed by Ibbotson's composition "Dance Little Jean", which went to number nine.[18] Both were included on the albumLet's Go, their last after rejoining Liberty.[2]Norbert Putnam andRichard Landis co-produced the project.[39] This album marked a shift tocountry music, a move which Hanna attributed to changing tastes among fans of rock and pop music.[38] McEuen, meanwhile, attributed the shift to country, return of Ibbotson to the lineup, and reversion of the name to Nitty Gritty Dirt Band as conditions agreed upon by Morris, who was seeking to make the band more successful again after the failure ofJealousy.[37]
The band began recording their next album,Plain Dirt Fashion, while still on Liberty. However, Morris was uncertain if the label would promote the album properly, as it was the last one in their contract. As a result, they transferred toWarner Records, which released it in 1984. Furthering their move to country music, they also switched booking agents, which resulted in them opening shows forRicky Skaggs andHank Williams Jr.[40]Paul Worley and Marshall Morgan served as producers on the project. According to Ibbotson, the band chose to switch producers after moving to Warner, as they thought Putnam's and Landis's production styles were not suitable for country.[39] In addition to the five members, other contributors included Skaggs andJerry Douglas. The project also included a cover ofBruce Springsteen's "Cadillac Ranch".[41] The lead single was another Rodney Crowell composition, "Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)", which in 1984 became their first number-one single on theBillboard country charts.[18] Also issued as singles were "I Love Only You" (written byDave Loggins andDon Schlitz) and "High Horse" (written by Ibbotson), both of which were top-five country hits between late 1984 and early 1985.[18] Writing for theMattoon, Illinois,Journal Gazette, Rickey Ferguson found a country influence through the "storytelling lyrics" of "Long Hard Road".[41]
Next on Warner wasPartners, Brothers and Friends in 1985. The album's lead single was "Modern Day Romance", written byKix Brooks, who later became half ofBrooks & Dunn. Upon release, this song became Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's second number-one on theBillboard country charts.[18] Worley noted that the song had originally been submitted to them for inclusion onPlain Dirt Fashion, but was rejected, and they chose to record it after it was submitted to them a second time.[42] Also charting in the top 10 from this album were "Home Again in My Heart" and thetitle track, which Hanna and Ibbotson co-wrote.[18] While not released as a single, the album track "Telluride" (also written by Ibbotson) was made into a music video.Robert K. Oermann ofThe Tennessean noted that the lyrics of "Partners, Brothers and Friends" contained several references to the band's career up to that point.[43] Holly Gleason ofThe Miami Herald reviewed the album favorably, praising Hanna's and Ibbotson's lead vocals and the lyrics of the title track.[44] Following in 1986 was their second greatest-hits package,Twenty Years of Dirt. It was accompanied by an anniversary concert tour of the same name, featuring a 10,000-person show inDenver, Colorado, withMichael Martin Murphey.[45] The album included the new song "Stand a Little Rain". Both this and a re-release of "Fire in the Sky" were sent to country radio as singles, with both reaching top 10.[18]
This was followed in 1987 byHold On, led off by the single "Baby's Got a Hold on Me". It reached number two on the country charts upon release. Following it was their third and final number one, "Fishin' in the Dark", written byWendy Waldman andJim Photoglo.[18]Ed Bruce had recorded the song a year prior.[46] For this album, they again switched producers toJosh Leo. He found "Fishin' in the Dark" when searching for songs, and upon hearing Photoglo's demonstration recording of the song, immediately suggested the band record it.[47] Hanna later described it as Nitty Gritty Dirt Band'ssignature song and a popular song to play during the summertime. The song was certified gold as a music download in 2011,[48] and increased to platinum in 2014.[21] The album's third and final single was "Oh What a Love", also written by Ibbotson.[18] Writing for thePalm Beach Post, Holly Gleason praised Leo's "perfectly pretty production" and Ibbotson's vocals on "Fishin' in the Dark", while also finding influences of country rock andCajun music on individual tracks. She also compared the track "Joe Knows How to Live" (later a number-one single forEddy Raven[49]) to "An American Dream".[50]
During promotion forHold On, McEuen quit to raise his family.[51] He was replaced byBernie Leadon, formerly of theEagles andFlying Burrito Brothers.[1] Leadon's only in-studio appearance with the band was on 1988'sWorkin' Band.[52] This project charted three singles within the top ten of theBillboard country charts: "Workin' Man (Nowhere to Go)", "I've Been Lookin'", and "Down That Road Tonight". Fadden wrote the former, while Hanna co-wrote the latter two.[18] Leadon left after this album as well,[53] reducing the lineup to a quartet of Fadden, Hanna, Carpenter, and Ibbotson.[2] An uncredited review inThe Tennessean praised the use of acoustic instruments and the "crisp" nature of Josh Leo's production style, as well as the "urgency" of the singing.[54]
In 1989, the band transferred toUniversal Records, then a new country label started by producerJimmy Bowen. Their only release for the label wasWill the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two, a sequel album to their 1972 albumWill the Circle Be Unbroken. Like its predecessor, it featured a large number of guest musicians, includingJohnny Cash,Earl Scruggs,Bruce Hornsby,Levon Helm,Marty Stuart, andVince Gill. Many of the guests appeared on the title track, a cover ofA. P. Carter's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". Earl Scruggs's son,Randy, produced the album. The album featured over 200 guests in total, and was recorded between December 1988 and January 1989.[55] Universal simultaneously released three songs as lead singles from the project. These were a cover ofBob Dylan's "You Ain't Going Nowhere" featuringRoger McGuinn andChris Hillman on lead vocals, as well as the original compositions "Turn of the Century" and "And So It Goes", the latter a collaboration withJohn Denver.[56] The Dylan cover, credited solely to McGuinn and Hillman, peaked at number six on the country charts upon release.[57] The other two singles were less successful, but follow-up "When It's Gone" peaked at number ten, becoming their last top-40 country single. Released last from the project was "One Step over the Line", featuring guest vocals fromRosanne Cash andJohn Hiatt.[18] The album won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, the track "The Valley Road" (a collaboration with Hornsby) wonBest Bluegrass Recording, and the title track was nominated forBest Country Collaboration with Vocals at the 32nd Grammy Awards in 1990.[20]Will the Circle Be Unbroken also won Album of the Year from theCountry Music Association, their only win from that organization.[58]
After Universal closed, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band transferred toMCA Nashville Records for 1990'sThe Rest of the Dream.[2] Randy Scruggs also produced this project, and Carpenter observed that the track "Wishing Well" was the first time every band member wrote a song together.[59] Serving as lead single was another Bruce Springsteen cover, this time of "From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)".[60] Neither this song nor "You Make Life Good Again" was successful on the charts.[18] Hanna later stated that covering "From Small Things" and recording a song written by every member of the band were both objectives of his for nearly a decade prior. Bruce Mason ofThe Province praised the use of mandolin in the production, as well as the number ofJohn Hiatt cover songs.[61]
This project was followed in 1992 byLive Two Five, a live album recorded a year prior inAlberta, Canada.[62] The band returned to Liberty a third time for 1992'sNot Fade Away, titled after a cover of theBuddy Holly song "Not Fade Away".Suzy Bogguss provided guest vocals on the track "Don't Underestimate Love".[2] This project charted the singles "I Fought the Law" (a cover ofthe Bobby Fuller Four) and "One Good Love".[18] It also included covers ofMerle Haggard's "Mama Tried" and theDennis Linde composition "What'll You Do About Me", previously recorded byRandy Travis and later a single forDoug Supernaw in 1995.[63][64] Writing for theElmira, New YorkStar-Gazette, Dennis Miller praised the covers in particular, as well as the vocal harmony and "uncluttered musical arrangements."[64]
Next on Liberty was 1994'sAcoustic, composed entirely of acoustic songs. Jim Newsom of AllMusic called the album "refreshingly unadorned" and praised the use of instruments such as dobro and accordion.[65]Entertainment Weekly writer Bob Cannon was less favorable, writing, "They're always competent, with shimmering three-part harmonies and stellar musicianship, but that doesn't compensate for their generally forgettable songwriting."[66] The album's closing track is "Bless the Broken Road", which Hanna wrote with Bobby Boyd andMarcus Hummon. Hummon later recorded the song himself, as didMelodie Crittenden, whose version was a charted single in 1998.[67]Rascal Flatts also covered the song in 2005 and took their version to number one on the country charts,[68][69] while Crittenden also charted the song a second time as a collaboration with the Christian groupSelah.[70]
The band released no further projects until 1997'sThe Christmas Album onRising Tide Records.[2] This project contained a mix of traditional Christmas songs and new material mostly written by the band members.[71] While on Rising Tide, they recorded another album titledBang Bang Bang, whose title track charted ahead of the album's release. However, the album was delayed due to the closure of Rising Tide and transferred toDecca Records, which also closed before it could be released. It was ultimately issued in 1998 throughDreamWorks Records,[72] which also re-released the title track and caused it to chart a second time.[18] The project included a cover ofMac McAnally's "Down the Road",[73] previously a single for him in 1990 and later re-released in 2008 as a duet between him andKenny Chesney.[74] An uncredited review of the album inBillboard called the project "entertainingly quirky".[75] George Hauenstein ofCountry Standard Time spoke favorably of the variety of songwriters, which includedJim Lauderdale, Dennis Linde, and Hanna's wife,Matraca Berg. He also wrote that "record label trouble" had kept them from being more successful in the 1990s.[76]
McEuen rejoined the band in 2001, shortly before the release of their third collaborative album,Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III, in 2002. This album featured further guests such asDwight Yoakam,Tom Petty, andIris DeMent.[2] Collaborators from the previousWill the Circle Be Unbroken albums returned, as well, such as Doc Watson and Johnny Cash. Robert L. Doerschuk of AllMusic thought the album felt less collaborative than the previous two, due to a lack of chemistry between certain performers.[77] Corresponding with both this album's release and the 30th anniversary of the firstWill the Circle Be Unbroken album, they joined Earl and Randy Scruggs, Vassar Clements, andJerry Douglas for a live concert aired onPBS and titledWill the Circle Be Unbroken: Farther Along. All of the artists performed a live rendition of "Earl's Breakdown".[78] This rendition accounted for Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's third Grammy Award win, in the category ofBest Country Instrumental Performance.[20]
Next in 2004 wasWelcome to Woody Creek onDualtone Records.[2] This album was recorded at a studio owned by Ibbotson inWoody Creek, Colorado.[79] Dan MacIntosh of Country Standard Time wrote, "Such an idyllic setting may well have inspired the warmth and friendliness of this bluegrass-tinged album."[80] Ibbotson left the band just before 2009'sSpeed of Life, a self-released project.[2]George Massenburg andJon Randall produced the album. In Ibbotson's absence, session musicianGlenn Worf played bass, while Randall and Berg were among the backing vocalists.[81] A review forCountry Standard Time said of this album that it "isn't breaking much new ground, but it sounds like an album the boys in the band had a lot of fun making, and that fun translates well to the listening."[82]
To honor their 50th anniversary, the band played a special concert at theRyman Auditorium in Nashville.[2] The concert was also released as a live album and DVD titledCirclin' Back: Celebrating 50 Years.[2][83] It included guestsJohn Prine,Sam Bush, Vince Gill,Jerry Jeff Walker, Alison Krauss, Rodney Crowell, Byron House, Jerry Douglas, and Jackson Browne, in addition to former member Ibbotson. The special also aired on PBS and was later packaged as a live CD and DVD titledCirclin' Back: Celebrating 50 Years in 2016. ALos Angeles Times review stated that the original release "helped knock down barriers then separating the traditional country and rock music communities, setting the stage for the eventual emergence of what came to be known as Americana music".[84]
Following the end of their anniversary tour in 2017, McEuen exited again, citing creative differences.[85] This left just Hanna, Carpenter, and Fadden as members. In response to this, they hired three new members in 2018:Ross Holmes on fiddle and mandolin, Jeff Hanna's son Jaime Hanna on guitar, and Jim Photoglo on bass guitar. Prior to joining the band, Jaime Hanna had been a touring guitarist forthe Mavericks; he also performed with John McEuen's son Jonathan in the duoHanna-McEuen, and later as a member ofGary Allan's road band. Holmes had previously been a touring musician forMumford & Sons. Photoglo had been a friend of the members for several years prior, and wrote "Fishin' in the Dark" almost 30 years before he joined.[86] With this lineup in place, the band recorded aBob Dylan covers album,Dirt Does Dylan, in 2022 withRay Kennedy as producer.[2] The first single was a cover of "The Times They Are a-Changin'", featuring guest vocals fromthe War and Treaty,Rosanne Cash,Jason Isbell, andSteve Earle. All proceeds from this version were donated toFeeding America.[87]Larkin Poe also joined the band on a cover of "I Shall Be Released". Hanna toldBillboard he wanted to release a Dylan cover album for many years due to his being a longtime fan of Dylan's music.[88] Dan McIntosh ofCountry Standard Time noted that while the project mostly contained "familiar tunes", he considered the arrangements indicative of Dylan's influence on country.[89]
In January 2024, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band began their farewell tour For the Good Times, starting with a concert inBowling Green, Kentucky, and lasting throughout 2024. Several stops on the tour included Isbell as an opening act.[90]
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's music encompasses a wide variety of styles. Colin Larkin, inThe Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music, wrote that their early albums containedjug band andVaudeville influences, while by the release ofUncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy, they "abandoned the jokey elements...[and] pursued a career as purveyors of superiorcountry rock."[8] AllMusic's Mark Deming spoke similarly of their early material, noting influences ofbluegrass in the "Mr. Bojangles" cover as well as the tracks from the firstWill the Circle Be Unbroken album. He also defined the band's late-1970s output assoft rock, and that their 1990s and 21st-century material was indebted toAmerican folk music.[2] On the same site, Stephen Thomas Erlewine also noticed influences of soft rock onThe Dirt Band.[30] Rickey Ferguson wrote the country influences were more evident onPlain Dirt Fashion due to the use of instruments such asfiddle andmandolin.[41] Holly Gleason noted thetwang evident in Hanna's and Ibbotson's singing voices, and thought therhythm sections were stronger than usual for a country band.[44]
During the release ofWill the Circle Be Unbroken, the members were noted for their long-haired appearance, which was considered counter to the appearances of country music acts at the time.Bill Monroe was said to have refused an offer to appear on the album, andRoy Acuff was initially apprehensive before joining.[56] The band said that an impetus behind their shift to country music in the 1980s was the lack of a successful pop song after "An American Dream" and "Make a Little Magic", followed by a realization that members of the country music community in Nashville were still fans of their music.[56] They also thought that the first twoWill the Circle Be Unbroken projects helped to "dim the lines" between pop and country, especially since the genre ofcountry rock was still new when the first one was recorded.[91] Walter Tunis of theLexington Herald-Leader thought that of them as an early example of the California-based country rock movement of the 1970s furthered by bands such asthe Flying Burrito Brothers andEagles, and that such a comparison was furthered when Leadon, a former member of both bands, joined. He also thought that their success in country in the 1980s was more indebted to marketing and changes in taste from listeners more so than a shift in sound within the band itself. Leadon also stated that he heard influences of the Eagles within the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's songs.[92] Jim Wensits ofThe South Bend Tribune described them as a "coming force in country rock" during the success of "Mr. Bojangles", and added that they "confounded critics by refusing to be categorized." He also thought that the band's sound during the 1970s was comparable to the Eagles, and that some songs such as their cover of "Jambalaya" featured influences ofCajun music.[93]
In a 2022 concert review, Jeffrey B. Remz ofCountry Standard Time opined that Jeff Hanna's "voice was well intact at 75" and that he had "an affable, easy-going stage presence." He also noted that Jaime Hanna, Carpenter, and Fadden occasionally sang lead vocals, as well. He also praised the use of fiddle and mandolin in their live settings.[94]
Current members
Former members (incomplete)
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