Founded in California during 1965 as younger contemporaries of the Byrds, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played an important role in the transformation from folk-rock into country-rock, and was an influence on such bands as the Eagles and Alabama. The band's beginnings lay with the New Coast Two, a folk duo consisting of Jeff Hanna (guitar, vocals) and Bruce Kunkel (guitar, washtub bass), formed while both were in high school in the early '60s. The group later landed a recording contract with Liberty Records and released their debut album The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1967.
The first successful work was Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy (1970). The album yielded the group's best-known single, their cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles," and suddenly, the band had a following bigger than anything they'd known during their brief bout of success in 1967. They released All The Good Times in early 1972.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band then moved to Nashville and recorded a selection of traditional country numbers with Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs, Mother Maybelle Carter, etc. The resulting album Will the Circle Be Unbroken became a million-seller and elicited positive reviews from both the rock and country music press.
Other Nitty Gritty Dirt Band albums include Stars & Stripes Forever (1974), Dream (1975), and a triple-album compilation entitled Dirt, Silver, & Gold (1976). Let's Go was released before they switched labels to Warner Bros. Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. 2, on MCA/Universal Records, reunited surviving country and bluegrass veterans, adding a whole roster of new players including Johnny Cash, Chris Hillman, and Ricky Skaggs. This album won the Grammy® Award for best country vocal performance (duo or group) and the Country Music Association's Album of the Year Award in 1989.
The group continued to record a new album every year or so including Live Two Five, which celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band; Acoustic; Bang Bang Bang; Will the Circle Be Unbroken, the trilogy, in 2002; and Welcome to Woody Creek.
Latest CD
Speed of Life