This coming Friday I will be skipping my company’s holiday party to go to a concert that I know that I will enjoy much more. John McEuen of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fame is doing a solo show at The Ark in Ann Arbor. If there has ever been a complete entertainer in the Americana realm, it is John McEuen!
I have always been a fan of the NGDB, and thought that McEuen was the ultimate in cool with that grizzled beard and dark stare from his eyes. Any true fan of roots music, particularly traditional country, folk, and bluegrass, has a copy of the classic 1972 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, in which the band brought in country pioneers Merle Travis, Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Roy Acuff, Vassar Clemens, Jimmy Martin and Mother Maybelle Carter to record country and folk standards. This three-record set continues to be popular with Americana audiophiles, and spawned two follow-up albums in 1989 and 2002.
McEuen joined the band when it was starting out in 1966, performed on some of its most iconic songs (“Mr. Bojangles,” “House at Pooh Corner,” “Fishin’ in the Dark”), playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, and fiddle, and was in the band when it was the first US rock band to tour the Soviet Union in 1977.
NGDB would shorten its name to The Dirt Band during the late 1970s and early1980s and adjusted its sound to be more pop-oriented. They had a hit in 1980 with “Make a Little Magic” and appeared on a number of television specials, including one with long-time McEuen friend Steve Martin. They were even the back-up band for Martin’s comedy hit “King Tut.” McEuen left the band in 1986 to pursue a solo career. He would produce and perform on Martin’s 2009 solo album The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo. He would rejoin NGDB in 2001 for a number of anniversary celebrations and recordings, only to leave again in 2017.
A fantastic read is McEuen’s autobiography The Life I’ve Picked: A Banjo Player’s Nitty Gritty Journey. He talks about his life of working at Disneyland with Martin, teaching Martin some banjo licks, the ups and downs of being a member of the NGDB, the thrill of recording the Circle masterpiece, the tension while touring the Soviet Union, and working with his kids in musical projects.
One of my favorite stories from McEuen I read in a biography on guitarist Duane Allman, Skydog. McEuen relates to a time when the NGDB and the Allman Brothers Band were both waiting at an airport, and Allman told McEuen to pull out his banjo and play some tunes. McEuen was reluctant, thinking people would be annoyed, but Allman snapped back that anyone that didn’t appreciate banjo music was pretty much un-American. McEuen relented, and Allman was happy.
I first met McEuen when the NGDB was performing a showcase at the AmericanaFest back in 2015. I remember introducing myself to him, and he stared me down saying, “Do I owe you and money?” He has a fantastic sense of humor, which show during his solo performances. I have seen him a few times, and I know that this upcoming performance will be just as good if not better. I hope to get a chance to talk with him quick for a possible interview on his fiddle playing for Fiddler.
So if John McEuen is touring in your area, make sure to check him out. Like John Hartford and Doc Watson, McEuen is an American musical treasure, with tons of stories to tell. I leave you with some great McEuen videos.
Chew on it and comment.
Luegra 