NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND
With a refreshed lineup and newfound energy, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band remains one of the
most accomplished bands in American roots music.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played their first gig in 1966 in Southern California as a jug band and
by 1969 had become a cornerstone of the burgeoning country-rock community. Their career
breakthrough came in 1970 with the release of the record Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy and
the single “Mr. Bojangles,” a folksy Top 10 pop hit that remains a staple of their live show.
During a tour stop in Nashville around that time, Earl Scruggs and his family came backstage to
say hello. That introduction led to a friendship and some of the connections the band needed to
record Will the Circle Be Unbroken. That three-disc album brought Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
together with a number of country, folk, and bluegrass legends. Heroes like Roy Acuff, Mother
Maybelle Carter, Jimmy Martin, Merle Travis, and Doc Watson joined the scruffy, young band
to record country music standards such as “I Saw the Light” and “Keep on the Sunnyside.” The
acclaimed project is considered a landmark recording in American music.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band earned a pop resurgence in 1980 with “An American Dream” and “Make
a Little Magic.” Those singles also found traction on the country chart, setting the stage for a
major run at country radio. The band secured 16 Top 10 country hits between 1983 and 1990,
including three No. 1 singles: “Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper’s Dream),” “Modern Day
Romance,” and “Fishin’ in the Dark.” Bernie Leadon, a founding member of The Eagles, played
in the band from 1986 to 1988 filling a vacancy by longtime member John McEuen.
At the peak of their country career, the band toured Europe with Johnny Cash and June Carter
Cash, who hinted that they’d love to appear on a sequel to Will the Circle Be Unbroken, if the
band ever decided to make one. That gesture convinced the band to get back in the studio to
record another all-star album. Circle Volume II featured Johnny and June, as well as Rosanne
Cash, Emmylou Harris, Levon Helm, John Hiatt, Bruce Hornsby, John Denver, Ricky Skaggs,
New Grass Revival, and many other marquee names – not to mention encore performances by
Roy Acuff, Jimmy Martin, and Earl Scruggs. Released in 1989, the album won three Grammys
and a CMA Award for Album of the Year.
With a refreshed lineup and newfound energy, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band remains one of the
most accomplished bands in American roots music.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played their first gig in 1966 in Southern California as a jug band and
by 1969 had become a cornerstone of the burgeoning country-rock community. Their career
breakthrough came in 1970 with the release of the record Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy and
the single “Mr. Bojangles,” a folksy Top 10 pop hit that remains a staple of their live show.
During a tour stop in Nashville around that time, Earl Scruggs and his family came backstage to
say hello. That introduction led to a friendship and some of the connections the band needed to
record Will the Circle Be Unbroken. That three-disc album brought Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
together with a number of country, folk, and bluegrass legends. Heroes like Roy Acuff, Mother
Maybelle Carter, Jimmy Martin, Merle Travis, and Doc Watson joined the scruffy, young band
to record country music standards such as “I Saw the Light” and “Keep on the Sunnyside.” The
acclaimed project is considered a landmark recording in American music.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band earned a pop resurgence in 1980 with “An American Dream” and “Make
a Little Magic.” Those singles also found traction on the country chart, setting the stage for a
major run at country radio. The band secured 16 Top 10 country hits between 1983 and 1990,
including three No. 1 singles: “Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper’s Dream),” “Modern Day
Romance,” and “Fishin’ in the Dark.” Bernie Leadon, a founding member of The Eagles, played
in the band from 1986 to 1988 filling a vacancy by longtime member John McEuen.
At the peak of their country career, the band toured Europe with Johnny Cash and June Carter
Cash, who hinted that they’d love to appear on a sequel to Will the Circle Be Unbroken, if the
band ever decided to make one. That gesture convinced the band to get back in the studio to
record another all-star album. Circle Volume II featured Johnny and June, as well as Rosanne
Cash, Emmylou Harris, Levon Helm, John Hiatt, Bruce Hornsby, John Denver, Ricky Skaggs,
New Grass Revival, and many other marquee names – not to mention encore performances by
Roy Acuff, Jimmy Martin, and Earl Scruggs. Released in 1989, the album won three Grammys
and a CMA Award for Album of the Year.
Dee White
DEE WHITE IS ONLY 20 YEARS OLD, BUT HIS MUSIC SOUNDS JUST AS VINTAGE COUNTRY AS THE REAL STUFF. THE ALABAMIAN SINGS LONGINGLY OF SOUTHERN LIFE, LOVE AND LOSS, HIS LUSTROUS VOICE WRAPPING AROUND MELODIES LIKE THOSE OF JOHN DENVER. WHITE'S DEBUT EP, 2018'S SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN, WAS PRODUCED BY NONE OTHER THAN VINTAGE KING DAN AUERBACH AND RELEASED THROUGH HIS LABEL, EASY EYE SOUND, AND WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE. THE PROJECT IS A SHOWCASE OF WHITE'S '70S COUNTRY SOUND -- EVEN FEATURING VOCAL HARMONIES FROM ALISON KRAUSS -- AND HIS GOLDEN VOICE OVER PEDAL STEEL SWELLS AND FIDDLE FLARES MAKES FOR SOMETHING AS IRRESISTIBLE AS IT IS CLASSIC. -- OL
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