Chris was a joy to be around. The joy of discovery led to the smiling certainty of the ages. Christopher Lloyd Darrow (July 30, 1944 January 15, 2020) was an American multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. 03/11/2016. independent local journalism in Denver. Of the 13 tracks on Speed of Life, 11 are new songs penned by the band, and two are classic covers: Canned Heat's Woodstock hit "Going Up the Country" and Stealers Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle". In 2006, his composition Bless the Broken Road won the GRAMMY Award for Best Country Song; in 2010, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Bands recording of Mr. in 1999. A follow-up album based on the same concept, Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two was released in 1989, was certified gold, won two Grammys, and was named Album of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards. As a five-piece, the group released four studio albums in four years, before McEuen left in January 1987 to focus on his family. The band blended Middle Eastern, country, folk, blues and psychedelia, incorporating the Turkish oud and saz. [1] The next album, 1984's Plain Dirt Fashion had the band's first No. Since the 1990s, he has sometimes collaborated with his wife, country music singer and songwriter, Matraca Berg. Jamming at a local guitar shop, they hooked up with four like-minded musicians to create the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: an old-style jug band-turned-California folk-rockers, playing gigs around the area wearing pinstripe suits and cowboy hats. Darrow, who composed and sang lead vocal on a number of songs, quit Kaleidoscope shortly after completion of Beacon From Mars. Thats a question for another day.) [1] Trying, in the words of the band's website, to "figure out how not to have to work for a living", Hanna and Kunkel joined informal jam sessions at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. October 17, 2018 9 on Billboard's all genre Hot 100 chart, with 36 weeks on the chart. [5], Six months later, the band returned with Jimmy Ibbotson in place of Darrow. Jeffrey R. Hanna (born July 11, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter and performance musician, best known for his association with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. January 17, 2020 @ 1's: "Modern Day Romance" (1985)[1] and "Fishin' in the Dark" (1987), the latter of which became the band's biggest-selling single, eventually being certified platinum in 2014 despite never reaching the Hot 100. Through that discovery process, we became acquainted with people like Doc Watson, Flatt and Scruggs, and Mother Maybelle Carter. Darrow provided fiddle and violin on James Taylor's Sweet Baby James. Formed in October 1965, the group was originally a jug band featuring guitarist and vocalist Jeff Hanna, guitarists Bruce Kunkel, Ralph Barr and Dave Hanna, bassist and guitarist Les Thompson, and drummer Glen Grosclose. [10][14] Personnel included Mickey McGee (drums), Ed Black (pedal steel guitar), Arnie Moore (bass), Loren Newkirk (piano), John Ware (drums), and Claudia Linear and Jennifer Warnes (backing vocals). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail. 2013. Another key member of that band was a boy named Jimmie Fadden, who would sit and play Dylan songs with Hanna, transfixed by the way Dylans music blended seemingly every roots music strain. He was 75-years-old. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was founded around 1966 in Long Beach, California, United States, by singer-guitarist Jeff Hanna and singer-songwriter-guitarist Bruce Kunkel, who had performed as the New Coast Two and later the Illegitimate Jug Band. John McEuen left the band at the end of 1986, replaced by Bernie Leadon, formerly of the Eagles. Following his time with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Darrow and NGDB member Jeff Hanna formed the Corvettes. From there Chris Darrow launched a solo career, releasing a total of 10 records between 1972 and 2006, while composing songs and playing on multiple recordings from numerous artists, including James Taylor, John Stewart, Hoyt Axton, Harry Chapin, and others. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry finds Fadden sharing vocals with Jeff Hanna and playing a signature harp solo. 1 success, "Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)". . January 19, 2020 @ US American country rock band that has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California in 1966. While in graduate school in Claremont, Darrow met Chris Hillman, a future member of the rock band the Byrds. local news and culture, Michael Roberts Keyboardist Bob Carpenter joined the band in 1977. During 2005, the band donated use of the song "Soldier's Joy" for the benefit album, Too Many Years to benefit Clear Path International's work with landmine survivors. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, which plays the Paramount Theatre on October 19 with Leo Kottke, is still considered a Colorado band, even though none of its current members live . Formed in October 1965, the group was originally a jug band featuring guitarist and vocalist Jeff Hanna, guitarists Bruce Kunkel, Ralph Barr and Dave Hanna, bassist and guitarist Les Thompson, and drummer Glen Grosclose. A second album, Ricochet, was released later during the year and was less successful than their first. For tour dates the following year, the remaining four members were joined by Hanna's son Jaime on guitar and vocals, and Ross Holmes on fiddle, mandolin and vocals. Your email address will not be published. The NGDB evolved from the Illegitimate Jug Band in late 1965, with the original lineup featuring Jeff Hanna, Bruce Kunkel, Ralph Barr, Les Thompson, Dave Hanna and Glen Grosclose. Jeff Hanna was a high school student in Long Beach, California, when he formed the first version of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band marks its 50th anniversary with a PBS special featuring Jackson Browne, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss. By mid-1976, Ibbotson had also left and new members John Cable (guitar, bass, vocals) and Jackie Clark (bass, guitar, keyboards) had joined the group, whose name had been shortened to simply the Dirt Band. The band returned to its original name and its country roots in 1982. Darrow was born in South Dakota in 1944, but grew up in the Southern California suburb of Claremont, where he first honed an interest in folk and bluegrass music. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band next sought to solidify its reputation as a country band when band member John McEuen asked Earl Scruggs and then Doc Watson if they would record with them. Nonetheless, these are the 10 best Nitty Gritty Dirt Band songs of all-time. Suddenly, a sound burst through the middling morass at laser speed, deflating the balls of confusion that teenaged Jeff was holding. A 20-year anniversary concert at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado featured such guests as Ricky Skaggs, Emmylou Harris, Doc Watson, and John Prine. Ben Harper, Bernie Leadon, Chis Hillman, Chris Darrow, David Lindley, Dry Scat Band, Guy Carawan, Jeff Hanna, Kaleidescope, Linda Ronstadt, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Byrds, The Corvettes, The Eagles, Erik North 1960s - 2020s. For at least his last decade he always used his favorite Duke Ellington quote on all of his messages Music is my mistress and plays second fiddle to no one. May he rest in perfect peace. Jeff Hanna Biography | Country Music | Ken Burns | PBS HISTORY | Nitty Gritty Dirt Band [19], Darrow took photographs since age 9, and shot album cover photographs for Starr Parodi, David Lindley and Henry Kaiser, Mojave, The Cache Valley Drifters, Swampdogs, and Los Chumps. These were later released on Desert Rain on the Shagrat label. [14], By 1982, Jimmy Ibbotson had returned and the Dirt Band had reverted to its original name of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Jimmy Ibbotson left the band at the end of 1976, leaving Fadden, Hanna, and McEuen to add John Cable and Jackie Clark, brought in on guitar and bass. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: 50 Years and Circlin' Back - PBS Johnny Cash and the Carter Family, Emmylou Harris, and Ricky Skaggs joined the sessions, as did John Prine, Levon Helm, John Denver, John Hiatt, Bruce Hornsby, and former Byrds Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman. After that release, the band shortened its name to The Dirt Band,[1] and the group's sound became more pop and rock oriented. Jimmy Ibbotson again left the band a few years later. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Artist Details. Jackson Browne, an original member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (a little-known fact to many), reunites for two songs: one an old jug band tune and the other "These Days," a hit he wrote at . Two other Circle albums followed in the years to come, as did continued work for Hanna with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, which celebrated its 50th anniversary with a sold-out concert at the Ryman Auditorium. There have been dozens, and maybe hundreds of albums devoted to the songs of Bob Dylan. In this case, though theyd never admit it, the Dirt Band itself is the long-held hero, and their acolytes are Rosanne Cash, Michael and Tanya Trotter of the astonishing duo The War and Treaty, Steve Earle, and a man many consider to be a new generations Dylan or Prine, Jason Isbell on vocals and slide guitar. Chris Darrow, a former member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, has died. Sad. In 1973, Darrow and Bob Mosley of Moby Grape recorded three demos as the Darrow/Mosley Band. John McEuen rejoined the band in 2001. In 2018, Jaime Hanna (Jeff Hanna's son) and Ross Holmes joined the band on tour, along with Jim Photoglo, who began touring with the band in 2016. [1] This album won two Grammy Awards[4] and was named Album of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards for Best Country Vocal Performance (duo or group) and the Country Music Association's Album of the Year Award in 1989. The band continued to gain publicity, mainly as a novelty act, making an appearance in the 1968 film For Singles Only and a cameo appearance in the 1969 musical western film Paint Your Wagon,[1] performing "Hand Me Down That Can o' Beans". [1] He was considered to be a pioneer of country rock music in the late-1960s and performed and recorded with numerous groups, including Kaleidoscope and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.[2]. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 1967 The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - YouTube Darrow was also passionate about photography, and was responsible for numerous cover photos for records. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB) is an American country rock band from Long Beach, California.Formed in October 1965, the group was originally a jug band featuring guitarist and vocalist Jeff Hanna, guitarists Bruce Kunkel, Ralph Barr and Dave Hanna, bassist and guitarist Les Thompson, and drummer Glen Grosclose.The current lineup of the band features Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden on drums . Their love of traditional music led the band to dream of an album that brought the roots of country and folk music back into public consciousness. These Days. The label had worked with Darrow on a re-issue of his 1973 solo record. With the lineup paring down to Hanna, Fadden, McEuen and Ibbotson rejoining in 1982, with Carpenter, who was not touring with the group that year, rejoining for recording sessions in Nashville, Tennessee for the album Let's Go (May 1983), which yielded the success "Dance Little Jean" that became a Top 10 country hit. The Dirt Band . My List. Country Pop/Rock Folk. Their first single, Buy for Me the Rain, was a surprise success and the band gained exposure on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, in the 1969 musical western Paint Your Wagon, and on tour with artists from The Doors and Bill Cosby to Dizzy Gillespie and Jack Benny. During 1989, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band again returned to Nashville, to record Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two. His father was a jazz clarinet player, and Darrow began to play ukulele at an early age, transitioning to guitar at 13. Trigger Country Music is a production of Florentine Films and WETA Washington, DC, and is directed by Ken Burns. A studio album, Dream, was also released. [6], Darrow's first rock band was the Floggs, which also included Roger Palos (bass), Bill Stamps (lead guitar), Tommy Salisbury (drums), and Hugh Kohler (keyboards). Dont think twice, its more than alright. Group Members. The number of musicians he supported, inspired and helped launch made him a godfather of Californias country rock of the late sixties, said Everloving Records upon his passing, who reissued his well-regarded 1973 self-titled release in 2009. 1985 CMA Nomination for Instrumental Group of the Year; 1986 CMA Nomination for Vocal Group of the Year, 1988 CMA Nomination for Vocal Group of the Year, 2002 Grammy nominations for Best Country Vocal Performance Duo or Group and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Dance Little Jean - YouTube Attending Pitzer College, Darrow spent two years assisting folklorist Guy Carawan, who taught American Folk Life Studies. 1972. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Producer Bill McEuen Dies At 79 Veteran fiddler Vassar Clements was introduced to a wider audience by the album, and a new career. He worked with such notable artists as Leonard Cohen and James Taylor, and mentored younger singer-songwriter and fellow Southern Californian Ben Harper. Learn more about the various musicians and leading influencers that bring Country Music to life. During 2002, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band celebrated the 30th anniversary of their landmark Will the Circle Be Unbroken with a remastered CD reissue of the 1972 album and a new compilation, Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume III. After contributing to The Dirt Band and An American Dream as a guest session contributor, keyboardist Bob Carpenter officially joined the group in 1979. But theres an insistent hope that we carry to the present-day, and if the times havent changed, theyve at the very least evolved. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Formed . PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. From there he formed The Corvettes with fellow Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member Jeff Hanna in 1969, and they were soon tapped to be the backing band for Linda Ronstadt just as her country rock career was exploding. The NGDB evolved from the Illegitimate Jug Band in late 1965, with the original lineup featuring Jeff Hanna, Bruce Kunkel, Ralph Barr, Les Thompson, Dave Hanna and Glen Grosclose. Chris Darrow - Wikipedia January 16, 2020 @ He was replaced in March by former Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon, although he only remained until the following July, when he left to focus on his solo career. The group's membership has had at least a dozen changes over the years, including a period from 1976 to 1981 when the band performed and recorded as The Dirt Band. Jeff Hanna The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB) is an American country rock band from Long Beach, California . After school, hed go home, lock himself in his bedroom, and haltingly play the picking pattern to Dylans Dont Think Twice, Its All Right until the halting gave way to the feeling that hed mastered a magic trick. During July 1974, the band was among the headline acts at the Ozark Music Festival at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri. Featuring Jason Isbell, Larkin Poe, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band & 3 more. Also during 2004, country group Rascal Flatts released a cover of "Bless the Broken Road," which the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had recorded on Acoustic, from 1994. Constant members since the early times are singer-guitarist Jeff Hanna and drummer Jimmie Fadden. This set in motion the further addition of other artists, and with the help of Earl and Louise Scruggs, they traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, and recorded what was to become a triple album, Will the Circle Be Unbroken. [1] Browne remained only until July, when he left to start a solo career. 1960s - 2020s. Later, the group recorded it on their 1968 album, Rare Junk. "Dirt Band Drops Ork-Rock, Gets Back To Nitty Gritty", "The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Biography & History", "The Dirt Band, Le Roux, Roxy, Los Angeles", "With Ronstadt's Help, the Old Nitty Gritty Band Returns to Pay Dirt with 'American Dream', "Country Beat: Billy Gilman, Hank Thompson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band", "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: After a 15-year layoff, John McEuen rejoins for a new album, tour", "Jim Ibbotson '69 Discusses Life After the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band", "John McEuen Quits the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band", "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Brings "American Dream" To Bemidji", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Nitty_Gritty_Dirt_Band_members&oldid=1138396565, Bruce Kunkel guitar, washtub bass, kazoo, vocals, Ralph Barr guitar, clarinet, washtub bass, kazoo, vocals, Les Thompson washtub bass, guitar, mandolin, kazoo, vocals, Jeff Hanna guitar, mandolin, washboard, kazoo, vocals, Jimmie Fadden drums, harmonica, guitar, washtub bass, vocals, Jeff Hanna guitar, washboard, drums, bass, vocals, Les Thompson bass, guitar, mandolin, vocals, John McEuen banjo, guitar, mandolin, keyboards, Jeff Hanna guitar, washboard, drums, percussion, vocals, Les Thompson bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, vocals, John McEuen banjo, guitar, mandolin, accordion, Jimmy Ibbotson bass, guitar, drums, keyboards, vocals, John McEuen banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, Jimmie Fadden drums, harmonica, guitar, percussion, vocals, Jeff Hanna guitar, washboard, percussion, vocals, Jimmie Fadden guitar, harmonica, percussion, vocals, John McEuen banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, Richard Hathaway bass, percussion, vocals, Al Garth saxophone, fiddle, keyboards, percussion, vocals, Bob Carpenter keyboards, piano, accordion, vocals, Jimmie Fadden drums, harmonica, percussion, vocals, Jimmy Ibbotson bass, guitar, mandolin, percussion, vocals, Jim Photoglo bass, acoustic guitar, vocals, This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 13:05. 2001. [4], In 1972, Darrow released his first album Artist Proof on Fantasy. [22] For tour dates the following year, the remaining four members were joined by Hanna's son Jaime on guitar and vocals, and Ross Holmes on fiddle, mandolin and vocals.[23]. Hanna, Fadden and McEuen then rebuilt the band with the addition of bassist Richard Hathaway, saxophonist Al Garth and drummer Merel Bregante. In May 2022, the band released a compilation of Bob Dylan covers, Dirt Does Dylan. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: 50 Years and Circlin' Back. Active. [6] By mid-1976, Ibbotson had also left and new members John Cable (guitar, bass, vocals) and Jackie Clark (bass, guitar, keyboards) had joined the group, whose name had been shortened to simply the Dirt Band.