Will the Circle Be Unbroken
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Doc Watson, Roy Huskey, Jr., Maybelle Carter, Jimmy Martin, Merle Travis, Norman Blake, Earl Scruggs, Vassar Clements
Producer: William E. McEuen
Capitol/EMI Records, 2002
2 CD
Catalogue #: 35148
EAN: 0724353514822
UPC: 724353514822
You save: 20%
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Les Thompson (vocals, mandolin); Jimmie Fadden (vocals, harp); Jim Ibbotson (vocals, drums); Jeff Hanna (vocals, washboard); John McEuen (banjo, mandolin).
Additional personnel includes: Maybelle Carter (vocals, guitar, autoharp); Jimmy Martin, Doc Watson, Merle Travis (vocals, guitar); Earl Scruggs (guitar, banjo); Vassar Clememts (guitar, fiddle); Randy Scruggs (guitar, autoharp); Pete "Oswald" Kirby, Norman Blake (dobro); Roy "Junior" Huskey, Ellis Padgett (bass).
Recorded At Woodland Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.
It's ironic that the 30-year anniversary of this classic album coincides with the runaway success of the O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU soundtrack, one of the best-selling movie soundtracks in history. Both albums find contemporary folk-rock musicians reaching back to the sounds of bluegrass, country, and folk (often lumped together under the heading "old-timey music"). The difference is that when the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band did it in 1972 it was a new (even risky) idea.
Harry Smith's 1952 ANTHOLOGY OF FOLK MUSIC had inspired rock-generation kids like those who would form the Dirt Band to seek out traditional American music. The NGDB went a step further with this triple album by getting the old-timey artists themselves to collaborate on a tribute to the traditional American musical tapestry. Thus, we have Doc Watson singing "Tennessee Stud," Roy Acuff taking on the Hank Williams spiritual "I Saw the Light," and Earl Scruggs picking the "Nashville Blues," with the Dirt Band and various country/bluegrass luminaries backing them up. The most amazing thing about WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN is that it all works so well and fits together so seamlessly. An undertaking like this could easily have been a train wreck; instead it's a triumph.
Tracklist
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Their earliest incarnation was as a large, fun-loving jug-band/trad folk group in mid-1960s California. Eventually the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band evolved into a tight, critically lauded country-rock ensemble, and had a Top Ten hit in 1970 with the poignant "Mr. Bojangles." The band was also legendary for assembling informal recording sessions with Nashville veterans such as Merle Travis and Roy Acuff, the results of which, 1972's MAY THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN, inspired two more volumes, a 30th anniversary reissue, and a box set. Through many lineup changes and a brief name change (the Dirt Band), their career has extended through the millennium and shows no signs of letting up.
Doc Watson
Blind North Carolina guitarist Arthel "Doc" Watson did more than anyone other than Earl Scruggs to popularize the guitar as a lead instrument in bluegrass. Watson's trademark two-fingered flatpicking style is one of the most influential in the genre, and has proven influential to all who followed in his wake. He became a professional musician in the 1950s, and was in the right place at the time for the folk boom of the '60s, which made him a star in roots music circles. For many years, Watson worked in a duo with his son Merle, but the latter was killed in a 1985 farm accident. Doc eventually soldiered on, becoming one of the most respected elder statesmen of bluegrass, earning Grammys and plaudits along the way.
Jimmy Martin
After four years with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, bluegrass singer and guitarist Jimmy Martin struck out on his own and soon became a legend in his own right. His string of late-1950s and early-'60s hits include "You Don't Know My Mind," "Hit Parade of Love," and "Rock Hearts." Martin's career experienced a major revival in the early '70s due to his prominent role on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN album.
Merle Travis
One of the most influential country guitarists, Merle Travis inaugurated a cross-picking style of guitar playing in the 1930s and '40s that was forever after known as "Travis picking" and became a standard technique in country, folk, and rock. His guitar mastery sometimes overshadows his songwriting; born in Kentucky mining country, Travis wrote the miner's laments "Dark as a Dungeon" and "Sixteen Tons," both of which became country standards. Travis made his final recordings for the CMH label in the late '70s and died of a heart attack in 1983.
Vassar Clements
Fiddler Vassar Clements became known as a bluegrass musician par excellence, playing with Bill Monroe, Jim & Jesse, and others in the 1950s. However, his musical vision was much wider than that, encompassing jazz, blues, and more. In addition to pursuing a solo career, he eventually worked with a host of younger musicians from the country and pop/rock worlds, including Jerry Garcia, Emmylou Harris, David Bromberg, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Clements died at home in 2005, having created a musical legacy that stretched out over more than 50 years.
