features in: Album Chart of 1972 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s ● 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die  |
Their sixth album, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”, was released in October, 1972. It was a very interesting affair which saw the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – young long-haired west-coast country-rockers – seek to bridge and unite the generation cap via collaborations galore from the bluegrass old-school, including Roy Acuff, “Mother” Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Merle Travis, Pete “Oswald” Kirby, Norman Blake, Jimmy Martin, and others. The ambitious triple LP has much going for it, and, hey, anything bearing the name of either Maybelle, Sara or A.P. Carter is guaranteed to get my maximum attention. The output from that trio in the 1920s and 1930s was treasure-packed to the max.
Maybelle kept herself musically active for as long as she was able to – her latest solo LP was just around the corner, in fact. For me, she steals the show here on this Nitty Gritty set – my 3 album favourites are all strummed and sung by the ever-charming lady. She positively shines on “Wildwood Flower” (lead vocals, autoharp); “Keep On The Sunny Side” (lead vocals, guitar) and “I’m Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes” (lead vocals, guitar). Top cut “Wildwood Flower” is best known through performances and recordings by the Carter Family – A.P. Carter arranged it for recording in 1928 – but the song predates them somewhat. The original title was “I’ll Twine ‘Mid The Ringlets” and was written in 1860, with words by Maud Irving and music by Joseph Philbrick Webster (1819-1875).
Way back in ’35 Sara, A.P. and Maybelle sang a 3-part harmony version of “Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?” YES, will always be my unequivocal answer!
The Jukebox Rebel
31–Jan–2016
| Tracklist |
| A1 | [02:59]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Grand Ole Opry Song (Hylo Brown) Country |
| A2 | [03:35]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Keep On The Sunny Side (Ada Blenkhorn, J. Howard Entwisle) Country |
| A3 | [03:10]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Nashville Blues (Earl Scruggs) Country |
| A4 | [03:35]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - You Are My Flower (Alvin Pleasant Carter) Country |
| A5 | [03:30]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - The Precious Jewel (Roy Acuff) Country |
| A6 | [02:45]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Dark As A Dungeon (Merle Travis) Country |
| B1 | [04:22] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Tennessee Stud (Jimmie Driftwood) Country |
| B2 | [02:10]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Black Mountain Rag (Traditional) Country |
| B3 | [03:24]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Wreck On The Highway (Dorsey Dixon) Country |
| B4 | [03:53] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - The End Of The World (Fred Rose) Country |
| B5 | [03:45]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - I Saw The Light (Hank Williams) Country |
| C1 | [02:14]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Sunny Side Of The Mountain (Byron Gregory, Harry McAuliffe) Country |
| C2 | [02:14]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Nine-Pound Hammer (Merle Travis) Country |
| C3 | [02:44] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Losin’ You (Might Be The Best Thing Yet) (Edria A. Humphrey, Jimmy Martin) Country |
| C4 | [02:19] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Honky Tonkin’ (Hank Williams) Country |
| C5 | [02:45]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - You Don’t Know My Mind (Jimmie Skinner) Country |
| C6 | [02:02] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - My Walkin’ Shoes (Jimmy Martin, Paul Williams) Country |
| D1 | [02:41]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Lonesome Fiddle Blues (Vassar Clements) Country |
| D2 | [01:15]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Cannonball Rag (Merle Travis) Country |
| D3 | [02:50] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Avalanche (Millie Clements) Country |
| D4 | [02:12]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Flint Hill Special (Earl Scruggs) Country |
| D5 | [02:25] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Togary Mountain (Walter McEuen) Country |
| D6 | [02:34]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Earl’s Breakdown (Earl Scruggs) Country |
| D7 | [02:14] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Orange Blossom Special (Ervin T. Rouse) Country |
| D8 | [02:00] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Wabash Cannonball (Alvin Pleasant Carter, J.A. Roff) Country |
| E1 | [03:37] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Lost Highway (Leon Payne) Country |
| E2 | [01:52] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Doc Watson & Merle Travis First Meeting (Dialogue) (Doc Watson, Merle Travis) Speech / Chat |
| E3 | [03:30] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Way Downtown (Traditional, Doc Watson) Country |
| E4 | [01:48]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Down Yonder (Doc Watson) Country |
| E5 | [02:53] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Pins And Needles (Floyd Jenkins) Country |
| E6 | [02:22]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Honky Tonk Blues (Hank Williams) Country |
| E7 | [02:00] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Sailin’ On To Hawaii (Beecher Kirby) Country |
| F1 | [04:25]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - I’m Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes (Traditional) Country |
| F2 | [02:55] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - I Am A Pilgrim (Traditional) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| F3 | [03:34]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Wildwood Flower (Alvin Pleasant Carter, Maud Irving, Joseph Philbrick Webster) Country |
| F4 | [02:05]  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Soldier’s Joy (John McEuen, Earl Scruggs) Country |
| F5 | [04:50] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Alvin Pleasant Carter) Country |
| F6 | [02:19] Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell) Songwriter |
