There are very few people I’ve met who haven’t said, “Oh yeah, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I saw them at my high school in 19_. “At that point, I try to recall which musical period the band was in at the time. Was it the ’30s swing they were playing in the late ’60s, or the country-rock they premiered in L.A. in the early ’70s, or the rock they were performing in the late ’70s, or the country they’ve gone into in the ’80s? I’ve known them since 1968, so I’ve seen them all and know that, whichever style anyone witnessed, it had to have been good because the band members always put their hearts into their concerts. To slay an audience is certainly Jimmie Fadden’s modus operandi. The band came together in 1966 as an outgrowth of people who hung around McCabes music store in Long Beach, California. […]

February 1986 Issue