Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

• Genre: Country Rock
• Hometown: Long Beach
• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Website

About

Along with the Byrds, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band were a rootsy, soulful West Coast band partly responsible for the influential California Country Rock movement during the late 1960s and early '70s. Although most famous for their hit, Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles," the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band should be recognized as one of the only West Coast Country Rock bands accepted and respected by the Nashville country music community. Perhaps this was due to their successful 1972 release Will The Circle Be Unbroken, named after a standard made famous by the Carter Family. Recorded in Nashville, the album consisted of traditional songs recorded with warm tones from a traditional-sounding backline and towering vocal harmonies. Doc Watson, Roy Acuff, Vassar Clements, Earl Scruggs, Mother Maybelle Carter and many other stellar Nashville musicians appeared on the album. The band has remained together since 1965 and continues to play sold-out shows to diverse audiences. Their music today encompasses soulful Country Rock, foot-shaking Boogie Rock, and beautiful pop songs disguised in the hot twang and backwoods tones that make the band's moniker legitimate.

- Eric Shea