Sixty Years of Dirt: The Circle Wall

When we wrote to the Dirt Band's friends, they wrote back. This page is theirs.

Over two weeks in the summer of 2026, Generation Country wrote to the people who shared stages, studios, songs, and sixty years with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. What came back was more than a tribute could hold. Here is everyone who answered — in their own words, at full length wherever they wished. The floor is theirs.

Bob Stane of The Ice House

"The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band claimed The Ice House was the first place that they played. Ever. And they got paid !!! Wonderful musicianship and great humor. I wish the music scene still featured them. They traveled the World and the World is better for hosting them."

Michael Martin Murphey

Rosanne Cash

Thirty-seven years on, the woman who recorded with her five-week-old daughter sleeping in her arms delivers the edition's grandest claim, and stands behind it. "The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band have been as essential to roots music as Thomas Jefferson was to the Declaration of Independence," Rosanne Cash tells Generation Country. "If they had done nothing else, the spotlight they put on Mother Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, and more of the old guard in the first Will the Circle Be Unbroken album would have been more than enough. A whole new audience was introduced to the essential bedrock artists of the genre." Her own seat at the second Circle "was a massive honor." And her closing accounting reads like the thesis of everything above it: "The Dirt Band have been archivists and curators, to the benefit of the American music songbook, and they have been a great band with a vision and purpose. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude."

Rodney Dillard of The Dillards

The Dirt Band was one of the first groups to come from the L.A. pop scene into the country music medium. John McEuen's passion for the banjo and bluegrass music was a great influence on their direction. He and his brother Bill were the driving force for the very successful Circle album. The Dirt Band's choice of songs was on target for many successful hits.

John Cowan of The New Grass Revival, Doobie Brothers

"In 1972 “Will the Circle be Unbroken” was released. I had flunked out of college after one year where I proceeded to confuse GPA with THC. I moved back to Kentucky (Louisville). I took a job in a car wash during the day, at night I pursued with all the fervor a 19 year old could muster the good dream of all young musicians, to play music for a living.

One day after work a good friend came by with a beautiful and curious looking record- “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”. We smoked some pretty shitty, dry, mexican weed and put on the record. As per usual I poured over the elegant record sleeve and credits. Strangely enough, though I’d grown up in Kentucky I didn’t know any of the guest artists. Man, what a great surprise we were in for. My first real exposure to country/folk artist lay at my feet. Yes, I loved Poco and The Flying Burrito Brothers but this was from what I could gather “The Source” - Merle Travis, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Jimmie Martin, Vassar Clements, Roy Husky Sr, Mother Maybelle Carter, Roy Acuff and on and on.

Two years later I auditioned to be the bassist and vocalist for The New Grass Revival. Two years after that we (NGR) found ourselves opening shows for “The Dirt Band” in arena’s in the midwest. To say we were treated with kid gloves doesn’t even cover how kind & respectful we were treated by these guys who were literally our heroes.

From that moment to NGR’s inclusion in “Circle 2” to this very day my friendship and love for these men will go with me to my grave. Their place in music and the indelible mark they made on music lovers and musicians will never fade away. John Cowan Boston MA 2026"

Tim O'Brien

With their Will the Circle Be Unbroken release, the Dirt Band invented what we now call Americana music. They brought a brand new audience to Country and Bluegrass and redefined it in the process. 

Tim Stafford

When I got into Bluegrass in the mid-1970s, there was a sound that permeated down to the local musicians I adored who gathered in bands and jam sessions in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was informed by lots of sources, including traditional ‘grass like Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs and others, but also the contemporary sounds of The Osborne Brothers, The Country Gentlemen and Seldom Scene, plus the influence of groups like the Earl Scruggs Revue, Newgrass Revival and others. But the sound that may have had the biggest impact was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's monumental Will the Circle be Unbroken? double album, because in a way it brought all these sources together.

The first time I heard Vassar Clements playing “Lonesome Fiddle Blues,” Merle Travis slaying “Cannonball Rag” and Doc Watson’s unmatched versions of “Black Mountain Rag” and “Tennessee Stud” on the radio, I didn’t even know they came from the same album, but I had heard this sound before…

So even though I came to the music a few years after McEuen, Fadden, Hanna and Ibbotsen forged this masterpiece with help from all the legends, Circle was a profoundly influential album, not only for those like me who didn’t really hear the whole project until much later, but for all the young kids who got “hooked” on this Bluegrass thing way back when and still can’t quite get over it.

Sally Van Meter

Inspiring is the word that first comes to mind when I think about Nitty Gritty's Will The Circle Be Unbroken recording. I was a young 19, digging into Bluegrass Music with the local players and someone had just bought the recording. Our group had been strongly driven to play the old trad grass like Monroe, Martin, Flat & Scruggs and with this recording we all sat around for hours just listening with our hearts wide open to something that felt so new but absolutely genuine. It was life-changing for me.

The respect shown to the legendary players by Nitty Gritty on this recording was right up front. This to me was not a vanity project, it was real music played by great players who loved playing Bluegrass. It opened me to so much possibility in Folk and Bluegrass interpretation-all while playing the real stuff in the right way. I am forever thankful to have been inspired by Will The Circle Be Unbroken to keep playing. It made me believe in the power that this music holds.

Mark O'Connor

When I was 11, I was just getting to know bluegrass music for the first time, and my mother was buying fiddle and bluegrass record albums to satisfy my new curiosity. Before it, I’d been studying classical music, flamenco, and even getting into some Johnny Cash and Doug Kershaw by age 8. One of the first albums she purchased in the bluegrass scene was the new Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”. I loved that triple album set so much, and I went to sleep with the album cover at night. The way the hippies in the Dirt Band from California (as mom described them to me) paired up with these top tier Nashville musicians was incredibly wonderful. Of course their musical guests Vassar Clements, Doc Watson, Mother Maybelle Carter, Chet Atkins, Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff and more became instantaneous musical heroes to me as well as the Dirt Band themselves. I got to play music and work professionally with all of them within a few short years of that young boy going to sleep with the album cover by his head. More than a few of them soon became mentors. Roy Acuff actually put me on the Opry the very next year when I was 12. It was a head-spinning childhood year, with the musical foundation of their historic 3-album set at my side.

I was honored to play the previous role of my fiddle hero Vassar Clements in the 2nd Circle album, and I was on every song but producer Randy Scruggs' guitar solo at the end. All of it, like the first Circle album, was mixed live to tape. Everything that I played live in the circle formation setup in the studio was kept. I remember being both nervous by that idea, and feeling so incredibly free at the same time. I had perhaps the unusual reaction of just going for broke with it and not playing it safe at all as to prevent any playing errors or slips that could be forever documented on the album. What’s more, I sometimes improvised more outlandishly than I ever thought I could get away with on a song in a recording studio as I knew there would be no way to replace it later! My sound was bleeding through all the mics, but I was taking chances anyway and they had to keep it all! It was my way of saying; hey, I’m really enjoying myself here and hope you like it! The album became my very favorite Nashville recording session I ever did. And yes, to record with Johnny and June Cash on it, Bruce Hornsby, Earl Scruggs, John Denver, Emmylou Harris, Levon Helm, Roger McQuinn on it, John Prine… was indeed a wonderful treat. For the lone song that Vassar was invited back to fiddle, I went over to my 2nd instrument at the time, the mandolin, and had great fun doing that—still inspired by Vassar, the Dirt Band and those moments in time of pure musical celebration inside those recording studio walls at Scruggs Sound.

Five years before Circle II, The Dirt Band invited me to take the fiddle solo on the fade for their soon-to-be hit song “High Horse” by Jimmie Ibbotson. They were new in Nashville like I was, around ‘84, and didn’t realize yet that fiddle was no longer popular, so why use one! But when that song hit the radio, my new way of playing the fiddle on a country recording became known to Nashville’s Music Row within an instant. It not only led to me being on 450 albums in the following 6 years, but signing a long term solo artist recording contract with their label Warner Bros. Records. Jim Ed Norman who was the president of the label signed me for a 10-album deal, becoming only the 3rd instrumentalist in Nashville at that time with a major record deal along with none other than Circle I and II heroes Chet Atkins and Earl Scruggs. I will have to credit The Dirt Band for helping me achieve all this in 1980s Nashville. After the Circle II album was recorded, they could take one extra musician with them to perform in the former Soviet Union before the wall came down. They told me, job well done and extended that invitation to me. And what a unique experience it was—one that could take up a chapter of a book if I ever get it together to write about! Thank you Jeff, Jimmie, John, Jimmie and Bob for having me and my fiddle along the way on your great 60-year ride!

Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel

I first met the Dirt Band in 1972 in Nashville! We were signed to Unite Artist Rec largely because their Circle Be Unbroken album was such a success! Their respect for the roots country, and bluegrass music was such a great bridge between the baby boom generation and the Roy Acuff's and other artists that made the music so great.

Duane Allen of The Oak Ridge Boys

I remember the many dates we played with the Dirt Band. We loved being together. We spent hours, days, weeks, before and after shows, just hanging together. I always appreciated how seriously the Dirt Band were about being a group. They were always on time, on and off the stage, no matter if it was some big fair, festival, or Las Vegas. They always brought their “A” game.

The vocals of the Dirt Band members are identifiable, waking from a dead sleep. I cannot describe how it made me feel when I heard the voice of Jeff Hanna singing “Leaving Louisiana In The broad Daylight”. Jeff’s voice is one I have always loved. He helped induct the Oak Ridge Boys into the Country Music Hall Of Fame, singing that song. That experience is embedded in my memory bank.

I believe it takes several things to hold a group together. First, each person must love the music, and hopefully, each other. Second, each member must believe in the goals of the band/group, and respect what each person brings to that band/group. Third, to be a successful act, each person may, or may not get every idea that they wish. It is important to listen to the ideas of all members. The best ideas always work the best. And fourth, it is important to learn how to say “I’m sorry”, and mean it.

I know you have announced your retirement [from touring]. I am still trying to retire but I find that retiring is not so easy. Please give me pointers on how to retire gracefully. In the meantime, thank you to all of the Dirt Band members for all of the joy your music has given our business. And, thank you for our years of friendship and all the fun we have had. We may not have “knocked our audiences dead”, but we badly bruised a lot of them!!!! I will always love the Dirt Band and each of you.

T. Graham Brown

I started loving the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's music when I heard their version of "Mr. Bojangles". They covered so many styles, proving they could do anything. I believe country was a perfect format for them, and that was proven true by so many hit records. To me, they were always a cool band.

They were great at any style. They were never confined to any one genre; they could do it all, and they did it all!

I've been on the same bill with them several times over the years. They were always super nice and treated me with respect and kindness. Jeff, Jimmie, and Bob are all great human beings.

Y'all always nailed it! A stellar group! Outstanding! Job well done! Thank you for taking the music to the people in such a fine fashion and good taste! Blessings to all of y'all in the future. T. Graham

J.P. Pennington of Exile

My mother loved seeing these generations merge as she was always concerned that the old music was slowly dying. That album proved to her that her style of music could be enjoyed by anyone of any age. She was in her mid-50s and still performing in festivals and theaters at the time and I know it was gratifying to see more young people coming to see her shows.

One of the reasons self-contained bands became more acceptable in country music was due to the massive popularity of the band, Alabama. They made it okay for bands with long hair and big electric guitars and drums to have a place in the format. As a result, Exile and the Dirt Band and many other groups were able to take advantage of the willingness of Country record labels to give us a chance. Interestingly enough, the fact that Alabama had number one singles with two of our songs - Take Me Down and The Closer You Get - made it easier for us to get our foot in the right doors on Music Row.

We used to see each fairly often around Nashville and on the road. One trip that stands out is when we flew together to London to play at a festival at Wembley Arena. Over the course of a few days we got to know each other better and had a great time. Incidentally, they absolutely slayed that audience.

I think people should understand the importance of the Dirt Band and know how rare it is that they could be that relevant for that long. There will never be another like them.

Larry Stewart of Restless Heart and The Frontmen

I always loved their earthy grassy approach instrumentally and honest vocal approach. Jeff Hanna and the guys captured my imagination with Mr. Bojangles. The guys represented us all to the highest level with the highest musical integrity with self played and sung recordings and I want to thank them for that. Also congratulations on 60. Hopefully the rest of us groups can continue to carry the torch for the great band music created throughout the decades. Thanks for getting this thing started.

Josh Leo

I remember seeing them in Kansas City when I was 17 years old and being blown away by how good they were, and how they could all trade instruments between songs — everybody knew how to play everybody else's instrument. That just blew me away. Little did I know that I would have the extreme privilege of working with them years later! I feel like one of the luckiest guys in the music business.

We were friends before I started working with them, actually. When I played with Jimmy Buffett, they used to come see Jimmy, because they were good friends with him. That's when I met Jeff Hanna for the first time — probably five years before I worked with him. When I first started working with them, I told them the story about how blown away I was as a 17-year-old watching them perform and trade instruments. They welcomed me into their club like I was one of them. How fortunate I was. Making those records together was like working with my family. They trusted me. I trusted them.

I made them play on their own record. I'd seen them live so many times, and they blew me away with their organic string approach. I kind of became another member of the band — I played electric and acoustic on a lot of the songs as well, but it was them. They're the ones that did it.

They used to play on their own records years ago — "Mr. Bojangles" — but Nashville has this way of beating all of the creativity out of you and making you antiseptic by using session players. I refused to use anybody with them, and I would like the world to know the reason "Fishin' in the Dark" is so good is because it's them, not session musicians!

Did they play as good as session players? No. Did it take a little bit longer? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. What they actually played was a lot more inventive, a lot more real, a lot more organic — and that's what I loved about them. I just remember we kept playing "Fishin' in the Dark" over and over once it was mixed, because it was just so fresh sounding. I'll never forget that.

Jeff helps to arrange every song. He's very involved and very talented. We used to say, "Why worry, let Jeff"! And Ibby — his insanity was what made him special. He had lots of energy, and it was infectious.

They taught me more than anything: just keep plugging away. Keep hanging in there. Keep believing in your heart, keep believing in yourself. There are gonna be doubters and haters along the way — you gotta keep plugging away.

I would like to say to Jimmie, Jeff and Bob: It was an extreme pleasure working with you guys and making music business history together. It's fun when you do that. It's even better when you do it with your closest buddies, which we are.

Carl Jackson

When I first heard the album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy, I became a huge fan of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Over the next year or two I can honestly say that cassette rarely left the player in my old yellow '70 model Ford Gran Torino. Here 56 years later it still rates as one of the most listenable albums from start to finish of all time.

I actually wrote 'Little Mountain Church House' with Jim Rushing at the request of Ricky Skaggs. He was producing an album on Dolly Parton and needed a gospel song for the project. Well, Ricky liked it so much he decided to record it himself! When I heard he was doing it with NGDB for Will the Circle Be Unbroken Vol. II I was overjoyed… They did such a wonderful job on the song. It's truly an honor to be part of that record and I thank both Ricky and NGDB so much for that.

Bottom line… God bless the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Sawyer Brown

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band were and are heroes of ours. When we first started our band, we looked to those guys as folks who blazed their own musical trail—they were a band whose creativity and originality never stopped. And over the years, we traveled thousands of miles with them, and we’re so thankful to be able to say that our heroes became our friends. Last summer, we lucked into having a night off on the road in the right place at the right time, and we got to see them in Boise, Idaho. And they were great—as always!

60 years! Incredible! So, here’s to our road brothers and friends The Dirt Band, whose music will always live on and continue to bring joy to everyone who hears it. We love y’all!

Michael McCall, Associate Director of Editorial, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Co-curator, Western Edge: the Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock

Any band that survives sixty years in the music business deserves a distinguished
service medal. Fortunately, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band early on learned the value of
perseverance. Initially breaking up before eclipsing a half decade, the band
reunited to record their breakthrough 1970 album, Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy,
powered by their classic take on “Mr. Bojangles,” a Top Ten pop hit. The success
of both helped push country-rock to national prominence at the start of the 1970s,
an early indication of how popular this musical style would become that decade.

Then with Will the Circle Be Unbroken in 1972, they introduced key country music
pioneers—such as Maybelle Carter and Roy Acuff—to a new generation of
listeners, anchoring the Dirt Band as a group that bridged the past with the future.
A decade later, they began an extended run on the country music charts, proving
the band’s broad appeal while providing a blueprint on how a band can evolve and
adapt while always pledging allegiance to the roots music that had inspired them
from the start.

Jim Lauderdale

A perfect alignment was made with "Will The Circle Remain Unbroken," The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the players involved and for the millions of people it has reached. benefited from this touchstone of an album. They rejuvenated and brought the guest artists involved, brought them significant exposure, and highlighted their significance and contribution to popular music. For me, a teenage beginning banjo player this was a joyful, meaningful education that opened my mind and heart and helped set me on a concentrated path for music. For my generation, which was already listening to rock, soul, blues, and the dynamic music happening in the sixties and early seventies, we were also exposed to more country, bluegrass, and acoustic music. This record was an unexpected welcomed beautiful gift. If this was all the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had ever done for the rest of their careers they would still be heroes to me. However, they have continued, evolved and music still drives each member past and present and I am forever grateful to them. It has been one of the highlights of my life to converse musically and as friends with these wonderful people.

Gail Davies

"Similar to The Earl Scruggs Revue, the Dirt Band brought a new perspective to country music. Not only in sound, but also in appearance. They were hip and cool and helped to open the door for a younger audience.

"I think the Circle records brought the generations together, merging the old with the new while still showing respect for the past. It was an assurance that younger people didn't want to destroy country music, only to enhance it.

"I first met the band through my brother, Ron Davies. Ronny wrote 'Dark Eyed Gal' for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's album, The Rest of the Dream. I know Jeff more than anyone else in the band. We usually get together once a year when Suzy Bogguss has her birthday party and we all sing around the piano. Jeff is an amazingly talented man and a sweetheart of a guy.

"They will be sorely missed out there on the road. They were, and still are, an incredible band."

Bill Lloyd
Foster & Lloyd

"Having been a longtime fan of the Dirt Band since I heard 'Mr. Bojangles' and 'House on Pooh Corner' in my early teens, it felt very cool to be suddenly in the midst of other bands all having some success at country radio… but especially NGDB.

"My first memory of sharing a bill was at a yearly Nashville event called the Summer Lights Festival. We were new on the scene and I remember getting great vibes from Jeff and Fadden. We went on to play a number of bills with them over the years. I remember one rodeo in Oklahoma where I had brought my 1966 Rickenbacker 12 string on that trip and Jeff was mortified I had taken the vintage instrument out for a gig like that. I took his advice too. It stayed home after that.

"I remember co-writing a song with Jeff in the early '90s. Jimmie played drums on a Freedom Sings road trip in Iowa when Craig Krampf couldn't make it. I did some songwriters in the round with both Jeff and Matraca, and they both guested with a band I'm in called The Long Players, where we celebrate classic albums. Jeff, Jim Photoglo, George Marinelli and I used to have a breakfast club for a while. It was at one of those catch-ups that Jeff asked Jim to go on the road with the band. Lots of memories NGDB related.

"There are a couple of photos from a night at the Bottom Line where it's New Grass Revival, Foster & Lloyd and NGDB… all still youthful and full of fire."

Irene Kelley

"I've loved the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and their timeless sound since they came out in the '70s. Their recording of Jerry Jeff Walker's 'Mr. Bojangles' is iconic. The D descending line made a huge impression on me as a songwriter and is largely the reason I've incorporated that figure into so many of my own songs.

"The Dirt Band went on to make many more great records. 'Dance Little Jean' is a memorable one, as we were inspired to name our daughter Sara Jean because of that song's impact and sincerity. And then of course there are the Circle albums, rich with so many great songs and artists in perfect collaboration. These recordings gave a big nod to bluegrass and helped broaden the genre in a big way.

"Wishing them all the best in their 'road/touring retirement.' Thanks for being an immortal soundtrack to my life."

Steve Buckingham, Former VP of A&R and Staff Producer for Columbia Records Nashville and Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records

Like so many others, I was heavily influenced by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" album in 1972. In fact, when Merle Travis asked Doc Watson about the guitar he was playing (as was captured on tape) and Doc mentioned his Gallagher, I tracked down J.W. Gallagher in Wartrace, TN. I ordered a G-70 and had Randy Wood at The Old Time Picking Parlor create a rose & vine inlay on the fingerboard. When I was at the end of my tenure with Vanguard and Sugar Hill Records, I was trying my best to sign the group to one of the labels since I loved the album they had made with my old friend, George Massenburg.Congratulations on 60+ years of pounding it out on the road and creating great art in the studios!

Robbie Fulks

"The 1971 Circle record meant a lot to me. First because we only owned about 30 LPs back then and that constituted a huge part of my musical landscape when I was 8. I think that scarcity is an important bit of context for younger people's understanding of the lines of influence: recorded music was scarcer and costlier, and so our vision was more restricted. Beyond that, though, that particular record was for me an early demonstration that the country, bluegrass, and old-time music of the previous generation or two was ALIVE, in conversation with younger people, and not least important, cool. Listening to Roy Acuff's original 'Precious Jewel' when I was 8 wouldn't have communicated to me. Hearing it with NGDB was still a stretch, because Roy's singing sounded real old-timey and the song's sentiments as well. But hearing it at all was something. Any song on that record was validated for me, and I can sing and play most of them 55 years later.

"The folk tradition and 'method,' so to speak, offers beautiful opportunities that other musicians are essentially denied, and NGDB have beautified the world by leading pickers and aspiring musicians into those opportunities. Entering country music with an idea of it not just as an industry but as a lineage, a communication tool, a community craft, a behavior, you can branch out into the world and start connecting; you can sit down and make music with total strangers, or play songs you've never heard by knowing the grammar and likely paths. Sometimes I see rock musicians come into backyard country get-togethers and express admiration and puzzlement at how things work this way, with people just seeming automatically familiar with whatever song is called and not needing to discuss things in advance. It's a whole different approach to music from growing up idolizing U2 or Wu-Tang or Taylor Swift. Instead, it's people off stage and on the same level, passing impulses and little inspirations back and forth between them, on a field of play that was established when everyone was little and learned it from their elders. The point is that besides parents, neighbors, friends, church, etc. there were records to learn from when I was little, and one of the fundamental entry points for me into this magical place was the Circle record.

"Thank you for your service!"

Dan Tyler

"I was long a fan of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. My first date with my wife of 54 years, at Ole Miss, was a Dirt Band concert! Our date was in the fall of 1971 — the concert was in the largest room on campus, the gymnasium! I recall being intrigued with the band, probably because they were about my age and wore their hair like I did. My background was in folk music so the Dirt Band was a natural for me. Like everyone else, I loved 'Mr. Bojangles.'

"I wrote 'Modern Day Romance' with Kix Brooks. It was our first co-write and like so many first co-writes, worked beautifully. I had the chorus but was stuck. He took the chorus home and furnished the first and second verses and the 'narrative.' We finished the song together. The demo, including the signature acoustic guitar lick, was very much the blueprint for the master — I give Kix all the credit for the demo. Upon first hearing the Dirt Band cut, at Don Gant's office, I was thrilled. It was very faithful to our demo and it sounded like a hit to me! It wasn't long before I heard it on the radio, which is always special. On the heels of a #1, it went to the top. All good!

"Fred Knobloch and I were invited to drop in on the Circle project at Randy's studio in the Berry Hill neighborhood in Nashville. They were doing vocals. I remember Bob Carpenter was about to do his verse vocal and he approached me and Fred, requesting a small lyric change. He wanted to change the line 'no more fighting for your country' to 'no more fighting for a country.' No problem! A special memory for sure.

"I remember that Jeff Hanna told me the band wanted to record another song I wrote with Fred titled 'Baby's Got a New Baby' but there were too many chords! That song later became a #1 for the group Schuyler, Knobloch and Overstreet.

"Looking back on their remarkable career, I think the Dirt Band represents the best in American popular music. It is rare for a band to stay together for six decades and remain creatively relevant. I think what they did with the Circle Unbroken albums was truly important. I'm proud that I got a song on the second Circle album, titled 'Turn of the Century.' I am a true fan of the band, and having those two recordings are among my proudest achievements. I'm also happy to report that Modern Day Romance continues to get airplay, over 40 years later."

Erin Enderlin

I absolutely love Jeff Hanna and I'm so grateful he played on my cover of Fishin’ with me. I just loved their interpretations and musicality and the way they wove the old with the new.

Viktor Krauss
Bassist, the Night After Night sessions

"I was honored to be asked by Jerry, to say the least. There was a day or two of pre-production rehearsals at S.I.R. to work our arrangements — it was with the full band — and the recording was at Ocean Way studio on Music Row, tracking with the entire band. The 'Tic-Tac' sound was a doubling of the eighth-note pattern that I also played on the upright bass. That particular sound was developed as a means of adding top end to the traditionally softer, sometimes muffled sound of an upright bass when only using a microphone.
"I have worked with Jerry a few times when he has the role of the producer. He always provides a nice balance of letting the music happen naturally, with the various musicians providing the makeup of the sound, but is willing to provide direction for a specific vision. As a player, he is so revered and respected. You always want to know what he has to say.
"I was always aware of them at a young age. It certainly was an honor to be part of their legacy for this particular moment. It was certainly really special to work within a group of people that have had so much history together."

Dave Pomeroy

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Bans have left an indelible mark on the history of American music. Combining multiple styles long before that was the norm, they opened so many doors for so many. As a teenager, I listened to their records at a time when genres were rarely mixed, and they broke the rules in a completely unpretentious way. They made me feel that all things seemed possible, but I had no idea I would someday meet and become friends with these incredible musicians. On behalf of the Nashville creative community, thank you and congratulations to everyone involved with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s amazing career. We love and respect you and know that your music will live on forever.

The Sixth Man

The friends had the floor above. This part of the Wall belongs to the audience — "the sixth man," as Jeff calls them, the ones who kept it going for sixty years. It grows as letters arrive.

Bob Stump

"Well — I was in my twenties and heard the Circle, and it changed me, like everyone else who ever played acoustic music. I never had fame or fortune, but like many down-home pickers I was amazed and influenced! In later years I got to open the show for John McEuen, and it has been a highlight for me to connect that small dot! Thank you, Dirt Band!"

Graham Lewis

"Wow! And Uncle Bob Stane is first comer up above, as he should be. I got to "do lights" for Bob at The Ice House in he mid-60s, when Russ Giguerre left to join The Men and later, The Asociation. I'm 81 now and still a huge Dirt Band fan. Who. were the original members? I miss Les Thompson and . . I'll remember (out of a sound sleep) the name of that tall, dar-haired guy. Yes! Ralph!! I don't know the new people past Ibby. But I do miss Colorado, ickspecially in The Good Old Days. Marvelous Marv's?!?! Whaaat? Red Rocks, of course, and, yes, The Oxford Hotel. Sigh. Thanks, NGDB guys, for pretending to remember me at those County Fairs. A few of you still can "pick," so Come to Eugene! Yep, there' only one. Like YOU, Johnny McCuen! Hey! Let's all do a Comeback Concert for Barack! I'll be there with my walker!"