- April 3, 2025
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Jimmie Fadden is a patient man. Maybe it comes from being legally named “Jimmie,” which strangers constantly spell “Jimmy” or assume that it’s short for “James.”
A founding member of the iconic Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Fadden was born in Long Beach, California, where the band began nearly 60 years ago. Today he makes his home in Sarasota, where he returned in 2006 after a stint in Nashville.
If folks know one thing about the Dirt Band, it’s that they sang “Mr. Bojangles.” Jerry Jeff Walker first recorded his ditty about a wise old man who’s had some tough times in 1968. The Dirt Band’s “cover” (an artist’s version of a song written by someone else) came two years later, and it zipped up the charts.
Even superstar Sammy Davis Jr. recorded “Mr. Bojangles.” But unlike Walker and Davis, who both have moved on to the great recording studio in the sky, the Dirt Band is still touring — for now.
So chances are, when the band plays the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Feb. 25, in what is being billed as a farewell tour, more than one person is going to scream, “Mr. Bojangles.” They’ll probably yell again if they don’t get what they want.
Then someone else will call out “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” That’s a Christian hymn recorded by the Dirt Band that kicked off a franchise of sorts for the group and its collaborators. It’s the title of the band’s groundbreaking 1972 album that brought together such bluegrass and country performers as Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Mother Maybelle Carter and Jimmy Martin.
Unsolicited audience requests might piss some people off. But Fadden isn’t one of them. “Sometimes it’s hard to play the same song over and over again with the right amount of feeling. But you get past that and you realize what a privilege it is to be in that position,” he says.
Indeed, the Dirt Band’s enduring appeal is underscored by the recent PBS documentary, “Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: The Hits, the History & the Dirt Does Dylan.”
Many singers and musicians who once filled the recording studios of New York, Los Angeles and Nashville have died, retired or were struck down by alcohol, drugs or predatory record companies. Those who survived learned to pace themselves in a demanding business where touring brings lots of wear and tear.
Fadden and his fellow band members are survivors. “We have fashioned a life that allows us to take time off, especially the winters,” he says. “Touring gets difficult as you get older, and it can be dangerous.”
While some artists mourn the end of the golden age of radio and the cushy perks provided by music labels, Fadden marvels at the wonders of music streaming channels and how social media can connect artists with their fans.
“The big difference today is that with streaming and licensing, artists are actually getting paid,” Fadden says.
Communing online is far cry from hanging out at the local music store, which is how Fadden found his life’s calling. The emporium that started it all was McCabe’s Music Store, in Long Beach, a cousin of the more famous shop in Santa Monica. That’s where Fadden met Jeff Hanna.
Together they formed the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band along with Bruce Kunkel, Ralph Barr, Les Thompson and Jackson Browne, who didn’t stick around long. He was replaced by longtime member John McEuen.
“We wanted to avoid working,” Fadden says. What about Vietnam? “Luckily, to a man, we all ended up in the reject pile.”
After the success of the first “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” the group’s focus moved to Nashville, as music industry honchos saw country-and-western gold in their sound.
Turns out they were right. In the 1980s, the band scored 15 Top 10 country hits, including “Modern Day Romance” and “Fishin’ in the Dark” co-written by Jim Photoglo, a current member of the Dirt Band.
A followup to “Circle” was released in 1989, the same year that Fadden moved to Nashville for a 10-year stint. The second “Circle” included contributions by such singer/songwriters as John Prine, Roseanne Cash and John Hiatt. It won two Grammy Awards.
The third “Circle” came in 2003 and included tracks from Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal and others.
Fadden first moved to Sarasota in 1979, attracted by the Gulf Coast’s laid-back lifestyle, which reminded him of California in his youth. In Sarasota, instead of hanging out at a music store, he started spending time with the legendary boatbuilder George Luzier, and learning the craft.
Before he retired at age 93, the late Luzier built 250 wooden boats and got Fadden hooked on boatbuilding.
Some musicians develop a passion, even a mania, for collecting instruments. At first, Fadden says he likes to keep things simple: He has a drum set in Sarasota and one in Nashville.
But after a while you learn that he has a penchant for collecting tambourines, shakers and other percussion instruments in the hopes that their sound will end up on an album.
Later in the conversation he reveals that around 2000 he became possessed by a mania for bongo drums. “I can’t offer a legitimate explanation,” he says. “It just came over me.”
Despite the fame that the Dirt Band has achieved during its nearly 60 years, Fadden remains down to earth. Asked to define success, he says: “To have the privilege of making music, to help people relive old memories and make new ones.”
The Dirt Band’s mission is also about passing the torch to the next generation. Besides original members Hanna and Fadden, the current band includes Hanna’s son, singer and guitarist Jaime Hanna. There’s also longtime member Bob Carpenter on keyboards, accordion and vocals, Ross Holmes on fiddle and mandolin, and Photoglo on bass.
“Each one of us has our own niche of interesting stuff. Each brings their own piece to the quilt,” Fadden says.
Is this really the Dirt Band’s farewell tour? That billing is used so often in the music business that we didn’t ask. We have a feeling Fadden won’t be able to stay away from performing. He’s been known to play around town with a trio, so keep an eye out. It’s hard to break the circle.
