John McEuen on the lasting influence of Will the Circle Be Unbroken

John McEuen. // photo by Alan Nahigian

Singer, songwriter, and banjo player John McEuen’s work with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band resulted in many of the ’70s roots revivalists’ greatest musical accomplishments, but none has had the lasting impression so much as the 1972 album, Will the Circle Be Unbroken.

Featuring the band collaborating with many early Grand Ole Opry stars like Doc Watson, Mother Maybelle Carter, Roy Acuff, Merle Travis, Norman Blake, and more, the triple LP is an essential primer of songs from country music’s early days, beautifully rendered by an all-star cast.

Though McEuen left the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 2017, his appreciation for the group’s legacy–and Will the Circle Be Unbroken in particular–has seen the musician touring in recent years as John McEuen & the Circle Band, which sees McEuen pairing with another founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Les Thompson, along with former NGDB member John Cable and Matt Cartsonis, “performing songs from Will The Circle Be Unbroken […] along with contemporary originals penned by John and other storied offerings from the bluegrass/country songbook.”

It’s sure to be a fantastic program when the quartet stops at Knuckleheads this Friday, August 11, and we spoke by phone with John McEuen about the tour and Will The Circle Be Unbroken‘s enduring legacy.

The Pitch: How did this anniversary tour come about? Is it just wanting to celebrate the history of the music?

John McEuen Well, you know, it’s been a little over 50 years and that’s really hard to imagine when you see it in print, but when you’re living it, it’s more like 50 weeks. It just seems like the music is forever. That’s one thing I wanted to do when my brother and I were putting together the Circle album–or what became the Circle album. Now at this point, it’s just something to call attention to ’cause people love the music.

That’s one reason I left the Dirt Band: I felt like there was a bunch of Dirt Band fans out there that weren’t getting some of what they wanted, and I could play to them. After 50 years, we were only doing one song from this album. And there’s other reasons.

So, I take Les Thompson, the guy that called me up in 1966 saying, “Hey, you want to come to the music store and start playing with this group we’re forming?” Les Thompson was 16 years old or 17 and I was 20 and that’s when we started the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and only six years later, we were in the studio recording with Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Maybelle Carter and so forth and boy, was that a surprise!

I’ve read over the years that, because of the success of Will the Circle Be Unbroken, there were some folks who had said “no” that ended up later regretting it.

Well, only one comes to mind that was really asked. There was so little time from the time I asked Earl Scruggs, “Would you wanna record with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band?” and he said, “I’d be proud to.” A week later I asked Doc Watson and he said, “If Earl’s gonna be there, I wanna pick.” Eight weeks later, we started recording and five days later, we were done. It just happened really fast to do those 36 songs in five days.

When we asked Bill Monroe, he says, “I don’t think so. I don’t want to do.” He didn’t know any music but his own. He just knew that we were on the same record chart as the Doors and Aretha Franklin and the Beatles and that “Bojangles” had been a hit along with a couple other things, and that meant. “Oh, they’ll probably have trumpets or snare drums or horns or electric guitars.”

He didn’t even wanna hear about it, but a few years later. I was opening a festival for Mr. Monroe and he came up to me and says, “Hey John, you ever do another one of them Circle albums, gimme a call.” Well, we tried.

You’ve revisited like this concept twice over the years. What is it about these songs–these standards of bluegrass and country music–that keep you returning to them?

Well, it just seemed like a good idea that people like this album so much that we should do another one like it and then we should do another. Volume Three is my favorite one of Two and Three. The first Circle album isn’t volume one, it’s just Will the Circle Be Unbroken and Volume Two and Three; they’re on their own, but it is just taking advantage of being able to put people together in a studio and record them in unique combinations is something that became a good idea or it was a good idea that became viable.

What does the show encompass? I’ve read a little bit about it and it seems like this is not just your standard performance.

When I go out, I like to take Les Thompson, and get a couple other players that will fill the bill of the Circle Band–people that grew up with the music or that are well known in their field. In Kansas City, it’s really gonna be fun. Have you ever heard of the band Riverrock?

Yeah!

Well, they were Kansas City favorite. I got them to be opening the show. They’re gonna have a reunion. Dan Smith has put together the Mumma brothers and, and the old lead singer [Allen Blasco]. I’m gonna have them open for a few songs and then they’re gonna play behind me and Les doing the Circle music and Dirt Band songs. It’s gonna be a time.

The Dirt Band played the Cowtown Ballroom more than any other group. We also closed it, as a matter of fact. We were the last group to play there. After those shows there, I would go sit in with Riverrock, wherever they were playing and gosh, that was 40, 50 years ago. It seems like five years ago. So, they’re gonna be back backing us up and there’ll be a special one-night-only show. I’m looking forward to it. They do a lot of Dirt Band songs and I’m gonna put ’em through their paces.

What was the appeal for you all in playing Kansas City that made you come back time and time again?

The people liked our music. How can you not go there? The people dug the Dirt Band. We weren’t huge stars, but we were well-known and we would pack the place. The place wasn’t built as a concert place. It was built to hold maybe 1700 people maximum and usually, we’d have 2300 in there, so it was pretty packed. It was a skating rink with a stage, and it was wonderful. It sounded good, too. The audience so good that the Dirt Band recorded part of a live album there, Stars & Stripes Forever.

John McEuen & the Circle Band play Knuckleheads on Friday, August 11, with special guests Riverrock. Details on that show here.