The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

THE BAND In 1969, the members of the three year-old Nitty Gritty Dirt Band almost packed it in for good, unsure of where the young group was heading next in its career or with its hybrid sound. Thirty-seven years later the remaining foursome – weathered, well-traveled, arguably wiser -- is enjoying its 40th Anniversary. The individual band-mates would probably admit they still don’t know where they’re heading next, only that wherever it is, they’ll be going there together. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s pioneering spirit, its eagerness to experiment and desire to explore the by-ways and gravel roads of America’s musical past, has exerted a profound effect on our present-day pop culture. They defied the conventional hit-driven approach to record-making by undertaking the ambitious three-LP set Will The Circle Be Unbroken, cut live to two-track in Nashville over six days, for the sum of just $22,000Thanks to the band’s unfettered creative energy and the palpable excitement of playing with their country and bluegrass music idols, the 1972 album became a landmark, genresmashing hit. Circle remains such a significant effort that it was one of 50... more...