Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
March 20th, 2009 by admin
Is there really a Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band? Country music, along with folk songs, remain very popular. They go way back. Many big time groups went on long tours. Some less famous artists still perform in many places. This article focuses on one of the best.
The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band had its start in California in 1966. Since that time there’s been some turnover in the band members. Two have always remained. These are the singer guitarist Jeff Hanna and drummer Jimmy Fadden. They originally created the band in an effort to not have to work for a living.
At the start the Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band was a jug group. Jazz bands used jugs as a curiosity. Jug bands in Memphis played the blues. They used washboards for percussion. One famous jug band often appeared in the TV series The Andy Griffith Show. Sheriff Taylor had a few run ins with this family. Sometimes Andy performed with the group.
Buy for Me the Rain was the first single released by the Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band. The band performed it on the Carson show. It was even performed at concerts with people such as Jack Benny and the Doors. Talk about diverse.
The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band was a big time novelty act in 1968. They performed a song in the 1969 musical western Paint Your Wagon. They also were an opening act for Bill Cosby when he appeared at Carnegie Hall. Dizzy Gillespie performed with them.
In the 1970s they went country. While in Nashville they were nominated for two Grammies. They had a tour in Japan. At the Ozark Music Festival they performed in front of 350,000 people.
The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band came in and out of the public eye throughout the late 70s through to the early 2000’s. They returned to Nashville to make more music. At this time they won two Grammy awards.
Even if you haven’t heard their work, and you probably have, The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band is part of country music and America.
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