Not Buffalo Springfield Or The Band: The California Group That Helped Pioneer Country Rock

In discussions about the birth and growth of country rock, certain names are bound to come up, such as the Byrds, with their historic crossover album "Sweetheart of the Rodeo," as well as Gram Parsons, Buffalo Springfield, and The Band – and rightfully so. But there's another group who were just as important to the history of country rock: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB), who formed in Long Beach, California, in 1966 as a jug band that initially included Jackson Browne before he became massively successful as a solo artist.

They helped coalesce the California country rock sound in the late 1960s with their first five albums, released between 1967 and 1969, which included a mix of country rock, sunshine pop, psychedelia, and folk rock. They even performed the country song "Oh, Hand Me Down That Can O' Beans" in the critically panned 1969 Western musical"Paint Your Wagon," starring Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin.

But it was their breakout album from 1970, "Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy," which fully integrated country rock with the band's classic lineup of Jeff Hanna, John McEuen, Jimmie Fadden, Les Thompson, and Jim Ibbotson. The album included their hit version of country artist Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles" that made it to No. 9 on Billboard's Hot 100 and cemented their connection to country, one that would only grow stronger in the coming years.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's 1971 album, "All the Good Times," continued to lean into country and included a Hank Williams cover. Then in 1972, NGDB bridged the gap between California country rock and Nashville's original country legends with the historic album, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."

The band went to Nashville to record this three-disc album that was a love letter to classic country. It included guest appearances from legends such as Maybelle Carter from the pioneering Carter Family, known as "The First Family of Country Music." Other country and bluegrass masters featured on the album included Roy Acuff, Doc Watson, Merle Travis, and Earl Scruggs. The Grammy-nominated album was a platinum seller, introduced a generation of rock fans to important older artists, and was chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation for its historic importance.

By the 1980s, NGDB had returned to country music and revisited the idea of "Will the Circle Remain Unbroken" with a second volume in 1989, which included guest appearances by Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins, Roy Acuff, John Denver, and many others. In the 1990s, the band returned to country rock and are still recording and performing 50 years on. While The Band, Buffalo Springfield, and the Byrds helped pioneer country rock, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is equally responsible, and went further than anyone else in bridging the gap between rock and country.