Nitty Gritty Dirt Band & Jim Ibbotson '69 Inducted Into Colorado Music Hall of Fame
January 14, 2015
Jimmy Ibbotson, former longtime member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and 1969 graduate of DePauw University, rejoined his former group on January 9 as the NGDB was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place at the Paramount Theatre in Denver.
Other 2015 honorees were Poco, Firefall and Manassas.
"Straddling such diverse styles as rock, folk, country and bluegrass, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s move to Colorado from Los Angeles in 1971 contributed to its rise in stature, both commercially and creatively," notes the Hall of Fame. "Will The Circle Be Unbroken, the historic American music anthology, marked the acceptance of longhaired 'hippie' types by country music establishment figures. In 1977, the pioneering Dirt Band became the first American group selected by the Soviet government to tour Russia. In the 1980s, the band made inroads into the contemporary country music world with a slew of Top 10 hits." photo below from the induction ceremony by Jensen Sutta; l-r: Chuck Morris, president AEG Live and board chairman of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame; band members Jimmy Ibbotson, Jimmie Fadden, Jeff Hanna and John McEuen; Steve Schweidel; and band member Bob Carpenter)
Past inductees into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame include John Denver, the Astronauts, Sugarloaf, Judy Collins, the Serendipity Singers, Bob Lind and Chris Daniels.
Read more here.
Learn more about Jim Ibbotson -- who provided the vocals for the perennial favorite, The Ballad of the Monon Bell -- in this previous story.
Back