Título: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Seção: 1966-69
Background: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, an American country rock band, has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California in 1966. 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. Constant members since the early times are singer-guitarist Jeff Hanna and drummer Jimmie Fadden. Multi-instrumentalist John McEuen was with the band from 1966 to 1986 and returned during 2001 departing once again in November 2017.

Conteúdo: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was founded around 1966 in Long Beach, California 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. 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 Long Beach. There they met a few other musicians: guitarist/washtub bassist Ralph Barr, guitarist-clarinetist Les Thompson, harmonicist and jug player Jimmie Fadden, and guitarist-vocalist Jackson Browne. As Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the six men started as a jug band and adopted the burgeoning southern California folk rock musical style, playing in local clubs while wearing pinstripe suits and cowboy boots. Their first paying performance was at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, California.  Browne was in the band for only a few months before he left to concentrate on a solo career as a singer-songwriter. He was replaced by John McEuen on banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and steel guitar. McEuen's older brother, William, was the group's manager, and he helped the band get signed with Liberty Records, which released the group's debut album, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band during 1967. The band's first single, "Buy for Me the Rain," was a Top 40 success, and the band gained exposure on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, as well as concerts with such disparate artists as Jack Benny and The Doo

user: What were beginning years like for the band?

assistant: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was founded around 1966 in Long Beach, California

user: Who were the founding members of the band?

assistant: singer-guitarist Jeff Hanna and singer-songwriter guitarist Bruce Kunkel

user: What was the genre or style of music they chose to play?

assistant: started as a jug band and adopted the burgeoning southern California folk rock musical style,

user: What album did they release during this period?

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: Were there any significant performances during this period?

assistant: Browne was in the band for only a few months before he left to concentrate on a solo career as a singer-songwriter.

user: DId they experience any other significant changes in the band during this period?

assistant: He was replaced by John McEuen on banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and steel guitar.

user: Did the band ever receive a record deal?

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: Is there anything else significant that happened in the late 60's for the band?

assistant: By 1968, the band adopted electrical instruments anyway, and added drums.