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The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band had its start in California in 1966.  Many musicians have come and gone.  There are still two who have been there from the start.  It’s the guitarist Jeff Hanna and the drummer Jimmy Fadden.  They wanted to make a band so they wouldn’t have to work.

In the early days The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band was a jug band.   Jugs were added by jazz bands as a novelty.  Jug bands in Memphis played the blues.  A washboard was used for percussion.  One famous jug band often appeared in the TV series The Andy Griffith Show.  In the show they played a backwoods family whose daughter often got Sheriff Griffith into problems.  Sometimes Andy performed with the group.

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In 1967 The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band released their first single Buy for Me the Rain.  The band performed it on the Carson show.  It was even performed at concerts with people such as Jack Benny and the Doors.  That’s a real difference in performing partners.

The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band was a big time novelty act in 1968.  They sang in the musical 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.  They went to Nashville, Tennessee where they had some success including two Grammy nominations.  They also toured in Japan.  In 1974 they were the headline act at the Ozark Music Festival in front of nearly 350,000 people.

The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band kind of disappeared, but popped up now and then.  They returned to Nashville to make more music.  One of their albums earned album of the year.

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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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