The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is Headed to The Colorado Music Hall of Fame
The Colorado Music Hall of Fame opens its doors to four acts that made their mark on the world of music in the 1970's.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Poco, Firefall and Stephen Stills will be inducted during tonight's ceremony. Stills side project, Manassas, will also be inducted.
The groups will be honored at the Paramount Theatre in Denver. Governor John Hickenlooper is scheduled to make an appearance.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has graced the stage at our annual Beartrap Summer Festival.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band also moved from L.A. to Colorado early in its career. The group is best-known for its hit 1970 cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles" and the star-studded collaborative 1972 country-folk tribute album Will the Circle Be Unbroken. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's current lineup, which features founding members Jeff Hanna, John McEuen and Jimmie Fadden, will play at the Hall of Fame event.
Poco formed in 1968 in Los Angeles, and originally featured ex-Buffalo Springfield members Richie Furay and Jim Messina, as well as pedal-steel guitarist Rusty Young, drummer George Grantham and future Eagles bassist Randy Meisner. After a couple of lineup changes, including the replacement of Meisner by Timothy B. Schmit -- who later also replaced Randy in the Eagles -- Poco moved to Colorado. Furay, Schmit and Young, along with longtime Poco singer/guitarist Paul Cotton, all will perform during the induction ceremony.
Firefall was a soft-rock act that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974, and whose original lineup included late Byrds drummer Michael Clarke. The band's big hits include 1976's "You Are the Women" and 1977's "Just Remember I Love You." Surviving original members Rick Roberts, Jock Bartley, Mark Andes, Larry Burnett and David Muse will perform together at the induction ceremony.
Stills formed Manassas in 1971, after his supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash had gone on an indefinite hiatus. The band, which also featured founding Byrds bassist Chris Hillman, recorded two albums before disbanding in 1973. During this time, Stills wrote a lot of songs in Colorado. He also did quite a bit of solo recording at the famous Caribou Ranch studio near Boulder. To honor Manassas, Poco's Furay, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Hanna and Firefall's Bartley will team up for a tribute performance.
The Colorado Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony will also include a rousing finale featuring an all-star jam. For more information, visit CMHOF.org.
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