Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
The band in 1976
Background information
Also known as	The Dirt Band, The Toot Uncommons
Origin	Long Beach, California, U.S.
Genres	Folk, country, folk rock, bluegrass
Years active	1966–present
Labels	BGO, Liberty, EMI America, Capitol, United Artists, Warner Bros., MCA, CEMA, Javelin, Rising Tide, DreamWorks, Dualtone, Sugarhill
Website	www.nittygritty.com
Members	Jeff Hanna John McEuen Bob Carpenter Jimmie Fadden
Past members	Ralph Barr Merel Bregante Jackson Browne John Cable Jackie Clark Chris Darrow Michael Gardner Al Garth Richard Hathaway Jimmy Ibbotson Bruce Kunkel Bernie Leadon Bryan Savage Rick Shlosser Vic Mastrianni Les Thompson

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American folk-rock band that was formed in 1966 in Long Beach, California. The band has had many personnel changes, including a period from 1976–1981 when it was known as the Dirt Band. Original members include singer and guitarist Jeff Hanna and drummer Jimmie Fadden. Multi-instrumentalist John McEuen was a member from 1966 to 1986 and returned during 2001. Keyboardist Bob Carpenter joined in 1977.

The band's successes include a hit single with their cover version of "Mr. Bojangles" by Jerry Jeff Walker and a gold album, Will the Circle be Unbroken featuring Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff, and Doc Watson. A follow-up album Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two was certified gold, won two Grammy Awards, and was named Album of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was founded around 1966 in Long Beach, California by singer aand guitarist Jeff Hanna and singer-songwriter and guitarist Bruce Kunkel, who had performed as the New Coast Two and later the Illegitimate Jug Band. According to the band's website, trying to "figure out how not to have to work for a living," Hanna and Kunkel joined jam sessions at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Long Beach. They met several multi-instrumentalists: guitarist/washtub bassist Ralph Barr, guitarist-clarinetist Les Thompson, harmonicist and jug player Jimmie Fadden and guitarist-vocalist Jackson Browne. As Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the six men started as a jug band and adopted the burgeoning southern California folk rock musical style, playing in local clubs while wearing pinstripe suits and cowboy boots. Around this time, Steve Martin jammed with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, playing as he still does, the banjo. Their first paying performance was at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, California.