The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country-folk-rock band that has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California in 1966. The group's membership has had at least a dozen iterations over the years, including a period between from 1976 to 1981 when the band performed and recorded as The Dirt Band. Constant members since the early days are singer-guitarist Jeff Hanna and drummer Jimmy Fadden. Multi-instrumentalist John McEuen was with the band from 1966 to 1986 and returned in 2001. Keyboardist Bob Carpenter joined the band in 1977.