The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Hits the Rialto
Fifty-five years ago, a group of Southern California folkies had an unexpected hit with a country-tinged song called “Buy for Me the Rain,” one of a dozen songs on their debut album, with two of the others penned by a then-unknown composer named Jackson Browne. With that self-titled debut and its charting single, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was off and running, on the way to perfecting its trademark blend of bluegrass, country, folk, rock, jug band music, and Delta blues.
Founding member Jeff Hanna, who sang lead on “Buy for Me the Rain,” remembers the time well. “We were six guys who had a fondness for folk music,” he tells Zócalo, speaking from his home near Nashville. “Some of us had older siblings who got us into early rock ’n’ roll—Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly. That was a great foundation. But then we got deeper into the roots, listening to Doc Watson, bluegrass bands like Flatt & Scruggs, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Mississippi John Hurt. We came from this diverse sort of gumbo, a big mix of all this great music. Well, we had our hit record, but by the end of ’68 we were burned out, so we took a hiatus and then came back together for another album, this one with a song called ‘Mr. Bojangles’ on it, written by our friend Jerry Jeff Walker. By that time we had become a California country rock band, drifting closer, like Poco and The Byrds, to country.”
During a performance at Vanderbilt University in 1970, the band met legendary banjoist Earl Scruggs. They’d recorded one of his songs on that breakout record, Uncle Charley & His Dog Teddy, and, Hanna recalls, “on his way out the door Earl said, ‘I’d love to get in the studio with you boys.’” One thing led to another, and over the course of the next few months the band recorded with musical heroes such as Doc Watson, Roy Acuff, Mother Maybelle Carter, and Merle Travis, each legendary country artist bringing others into the fold. The result was the triple album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, released 50 years ago.
Some of those musicians, and certainly the country music establishment, were suspicious of the longhairs from California. They had reason to be. Says Hanna, “We were considered a rock & roll band back then, touring with Aerosmith, Johnny Winter, ZZ Top, and the like. That’s where we showed up. We weren’t touring with Faron Young or George Jones.” Still, the album came together, and when it did it was a hit, exposing many listeners to bluegrass and country music for the first time. With the passage of 50 years, too, the hard edges of genre and lifestyle have blurred. I was at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville just last month, and there in its extensive museum was a display case devoted to the album and its blend of musicians, hippies and country folk side by side.
Bob Dylan, of course, had gotten there—to both country music and the Hall of Fame—a little earlier than the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and he’s been another touchstone, so much so that the group’s newest release, The Dirt Does Dylan, is a collection of Dylan covers. The band—with founders Hanna and Jimmie Fadden joined by Hanna’s guitarist/singer son Jaime, keyboard player Bob Carpenter, fiddler Ross Holmes, and bassist Jim Photoglo—is now touring to promote the album. Expect to hear a joyous mix of Dylan, some Dirt hits, and some country classics. “We’re really grateful,” says Hanna. “We love playing live, and we’re excited to be coming to Tucson.” Tucson, to be sure, shares the feeling.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will play at the Rialto Theatre (318 E. Congress St.) at 8:00pm on August 28. Tickets are available here.
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