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.

The group was inactive for a 6-month period after Paint Your Wagon, then reformed with Jimmy Ibbotson replacing Chris Darrow. With William McEuen as producer and a renegotiated contract that gave the band more artistic freedom, the band recorded and released Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy, issued in 1970. Embracing a straight, traditional country and bluegrass sound, the album included the group's best-known singles; a cover version of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles", Michael Nesmith's "Some of Shelley's Blues", and four Kenny Loggins songs including "House at Pooh Corner", the first recordings of Loggins's songs. Their version of "Mr. Bojangles" became the group's first hit, peaking at #9 on Billboard's all genre Hot 100 chart, with an unusual 36 weeks on the charts.  The next album, All The Good Times, released during early 1972, had a similar style.  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band next sought to solidify its reputation as a country band when band member John McEuen asked Earl Scruggs if he would record with the group. Earl's "yes" was followed the next week when John asked Doc Watson the same question, receiving the same answer of 'yes'. This set in motion the further addition of other artists, and with the help of Earl and Louise Scruggs, they set to traveling to Nashville, Tennessee and recording what was to become a triple album, Will the Circle Be Unbroken with Nashville stalwarts Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs, and Jimmy Martin, country pioneer Mother Maybelle Carter, folk-blues guitarist Doc Watson, Merle Travis, Norman Blake, and others. The title is from the song, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)", as adapted by A. P. Carter, and reflects the album's theme of trying to tie together three generations of musicians: long-haired boys from California and older veterans of the middle American establishment. The track "I Saw the Light" with Acuff singing, was a success, and the album received two nominations for Grammy Award. Veteran fiddler Vassar Clements was introduced to a wider audience by the album and gave him a new career. The band also toured Japan twice soon after this period.  After the next album Les Thompson left the group, making the band a foursome. Stars & Stripes Forever was a live album that mixed old successes such as "Buy for Me the Rain" and "Mr. Bojangles" with Circle collaborations (fiddler Vassar Clements was a guest performer) and long storytelling spoken-word monologues. A studio album, Dream, was also released.  During July 1974, the band was among the headline acts at the Ozark Music Festival at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri. Some estimates put the crowd at 350,000 people, which would make this one of the largest music events in history. At another concert, the band opened for the rock band Aerosmith. CANNOTANSWER

Was there another in 1975 or 76?
After the next album Les Thompson left the group, making the band a foursome. Stars & Stripes
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, ett amerikanskt countryrockband, har funnits i olika former sedan grundandet i Long Beach, Kalifornien 1966. Gruppens medlemskap har haft minst ett dussin förändringar genom åren, bland annat en period från 1976 till 1981 då bandet uppträdde och spelade in som Dirt Band. Konstanta medlemmar sedan tidig tid är sångaren-gitarristen Jeff Hanna och trummisen Jimmie Fadden. Multiinstrumentalisten John McEuen var med bandet från 1966 till 1986 och återvände under 2001 avgående ännu en gång i november 2017. Gruppen var inaktiv under en 6-månadersperiod efter Paint Your Wagon, därefter reformerad med Jimmy Ibbotson som ersättare för Chris Darrow. Med William McEuen som producent och ett omförhandlat kontrakt som gav bandet mer konstnärlig frihet spelade bandet in och släppte Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy, utgiven 1970. Med ett rakt, traditionellt country- och bluegrass-sound inbegrips albumet gruppens mest kända singlar; en coverversion av Jerry Jeff Walkers "Mr Bojangles", Michael Nesmiths "Some of Shelley's Blues", och fyra Kenny Loggins-låtar inklusive "House at Pooh Corner", de första inspelningarna av Loggins låtar. Deras version av "Mr Bojangles" blev gruppens första hit, toppande på #9 på Billboards allgenre Hot 100 chart, med en ovanlig 36 veckor på sjökorten. Nästa album, All The Good Times, som släpptes under början av 1972, hade en liknande stil. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band sökte därefter stelna sitt rykte som countryband då bandmedlemmen John McEuen frågade Earl Scruggs om han skulle spela in med gruppen. Earls "ja" följdes veckan därpå då John ställde samma fråga till Doc Watson, som fick samma svar på "ja". Detta satte i rörelse det fortsatta tillskottet av andra artister, och med hjälp av Earl och Louise Scruggs, satte de igång med att resa till Nashville, Tennessee och spela in vad som skulle bli ett trippelalbum, Will the Circle Be Unbreaked med Nashville stalwarts Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs, och Jimmy Martin, countrypionjären Mother Maybelle Carter, folk-blues gitarristen Doc Watson, Merle Travis, Norman Blake, med flera. Titeln är från låten, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)", anpassad av A. P. Carter, och speglar albumets tema att försöka knyta ihop tre generationer musiker: långhåriga pojkar från Kalifornien och äldre veteraner från det mellanamerikanska etablissemanget. Spåret "I Saw the Light" med Acuff sjungande, blev en succé, och albumet fick två nomineringar till Grammy Award. Veteranspelmannen Vassar Clements introducerades för en bredare publik av albumet och gav honom en ny karriär. Bandet turnerade även i Japan två gånger strax efter denna period. Efter nästa album lämnade Les Thompson gruppen, vilket gjorde bandet till en fyrkant. Stars & Stripes Forever var ett livealbum som blandade gamla framgångar som "Buy for Me the Rain" och "Mr Bojangles" med Circle-samarbeten (spelman Vassar Clements var gästartist) och långa berättar-talesmonologer. Ett studioalbum, Dream, släpptes också. Under juli 1974 var bandet bland rubrikerna vid Ozark Music Festival på Missouri State Fairgrounds i Sedalia, Missouri. Enligt vissa beräkningar var folkmassan 350 000 personer, vilket skulle göra detta till en av de största musikhändelserna i historien. Vid en annan konsert öppnade bandet för rockbandet Aerosmith. Var det någon annan år 1975 eller 76?
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 Dirt Band. Constant members since early times are singer-guitarist Jeff Hanna and drummer Jimmie Fadden. Multi-instrumentalist John McEuen was with the band from 1966 to 1986 and in 2001 returned departing once again in November 2017. The group was inactive for a 6-month period after Paint Your Wagon, then reformed with Jimmy Ibbotson replacing Chris Darrow. With William McEuen as producer and a renegotiated contract giving the band more artistic freedom, the band recorded and released Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy, published in 1970. With a straight, traditional country and bluegrass sound, the album includes the group's most famous singles; a cover version of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles", Michael Nesmith's "Some of Shelley's Blues", and four Kenny Loggins songs including "House at Pooh Corner", the first recordings of Loggins songs. Their version of "Mr. Bojangles" became the group's first hit, peaking at #9 on Billboard's all-genre Hot 100 chart, with an unusual 36 weeks on the charts. The next album, All The Good Times, released during early 1972, had a similar style. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band subsequently sought to solidify his reputation as a country band when band member John McEuen asked Earl Scruggs if he would record with the group. Earl's "yes" was followed the following week when John asked the same question to Doc Watson, who received the same answer to "yes". This put in motion the continued addition of other artists, and with the help of Earl and Louise Scruggs, they set about traveling to Nashville, Tennessee and recording what would become a triple album, Will the Circle Be Unbroken with Nashville stalwarts Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs, and Jimmy Martin, country pioneer Mother Maybelle Carter, folk-blues guitarist Doc Watson, Merle Travis, Norman Blake, and others. The title is from the song, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)", adapted by A. P. Carter, and reflects the album's theme of trying to tie together three generations of musicians: long-haired boys from California and older veterans from the Middle American establishment. The track "I Saw the Light" with Acuff singing, was a success, and the album received two nominations for the Grammy Award. Veterans player Vassar Clements was introduced to a wider audience of the album and gave him a new career. The band also toured Japan twice shortly after this period. After the next album, Les Thompson left the group, making the band a square. Stars & Stripes Forever was a live album that mixed old successes such as "Buy for Me the Rain" and "Mr. Bojangles" with Circle collaborations (spelman Vassar Clements was a guest artist) and long storytelling-tale monologues. A studio album, Dream, was also released. During July 1974, the band was among the headlines at the Ozark Music Festival at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri. According to some estimates, the crowd was 350,000 people, which would make this one of the biggest music events in history. At another concert, the band opened to rock band Aerosmith. Was it another year in 1975 or 76?
Efter nästa album lämnade Les Thompson gruppen, vilket gjorde bandet till en fyrkant. Stjärnor och randar
After the next album, Les Thompson left the group, making the band a square. Stars and Stripes