Will the Circle Be Unbroken: The Making of a Landmark Album, 50th Anniversary

by John McEuen

The 1971 collaboration of legendary Nashville bluegrass musicians and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, a Southern California country-rock-jug group, was the genesis of Will the Circle Be Unbroken, which Rolling Stone magazine would declare "the most important album to come out of Nashville." In this definitive, beautifully illustrated book, McEuen gives an inside look at the making of a landmark album, covering each of its thirty-eight songs and sharing previously unseen photographs taken by the author and his brother Bill McEuen, who produced the recording. The story of the album begins after the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's cover of "Mr. Bojangles" became a surprise hit, when McEuen invited Earl Scruggs to join the band on a new project. Scruggs said yes—as did Doc Watson, Merle Travis, Jimmy Martin, Vassar Clements, Roy Acuff, Mother Maybelle Carter, and other country stars. For six days in the summer of 1971, the musicians sat in a circle facing one another, recording country and bluegrass standards in East Nashville's Woodland Studios. Out of that magical collaboration came one of the most iconic albums in American history, one that melded musical worlds, bridged generations, and captured the essence of Americana. Now, after fifty years, John McEuen invites readers to join him in the circle, hear the stories, and listen to the music.

Genres: Music

225 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2022

Reviews

[Geoff]

Interesting but disappointing. I love this album, so it was great to learn about its genesis; get a more personal look at Earl Scruggs, Maybelle Carter, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; see what went into the recording process; and learn more about its impact on bluegrass, country, and rock. All of the pictures of the production were really interesting too and gave everyone a more concrete and more personal feel. That said, the text was crying out for a strong editor. Anecdotes are repeated often several times and often in the space of a page or two. This made the book feel disjointed, unstructured, and a bit of a chore to read and the rambling repetitive narrative made me honestly distrust the memory of the author. A nice document of the times but it should have been a lot better.

**Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[vicki honeyman]

If you loved the record, you'll love the behind-the-scenes book about the making of the album. Discover what wonderful people Earl Scruggs, Mother Maybelle Carter, Vassar Clements, and Merle Travis are and how they were brought in to the recording studio by John McEuen — and his day by day recounting of what went into making one of the best records in the industry that is celebrating it's 50th anniversary.

[Dan]

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Rowman & Littlefield for an advanced copy of this new musical history on the making of a classic album.

Rock and popular music was going through some real birth pangs at the beginning of the 1970s. The Beatles had imploded, Manson was a scary recent memory, corporations were starting to look at record labels as places that minted money, and the music itself was in flux. A peaceful easy feeling was beginning to make strides in the California scene, and a lot of the kids and musicians were discovering or rediscovering country. In this atmosphere a young up and coming band, met up with a master of bluegrass. Compliments were made, plans discussed, and a classic album was set on the path of creation. Will the Circle Be Unbroken: The Making of a Landmark Album, 50th Anniversary is a telling of the music sessions and history of the making of said album written by multi- instrumentalist and member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band John McEuen, with photos by Bill McEuen.

The book begins at the beginning of the band, telling of the various members, their musical apprentices, influences and highlights. The success of their album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy gave them a wider audience, and let to a meeting one night with banjo maestro Earl Scruggs. Known for his three finger style of playing banjo, Scrugs had been in many bands and was a huge influence on many that followed. Praise was passed, idle plans to record were made and from there the sessions grew. In addition to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Earl Scruggs, other musicians include Doc Watson, Merle Travs, Vasser Clements and an additional who's who of musicians. The album was recorded quickly, in only six days with songs done in only one of two takes. A three- set album was released and the rest is music history.

The book is a narrative history, with many pictures about the early days of the band, the players and sessions. There are plenty of behind the scene stories, jokes, tricks and fun little asides, that really make the book come alive. I enjoyed reading the book as I listened to the album, imagining what he sessions must have been like. There is a bit of repetition in the stories, some stories get told a lot, but if everyone is repeating it, well the story must be worth it. The writing is good, and the stories are fun and informative, not too much about the gear, though there are stories about guitars and instruments, but more about learning these songs from people the band respected, and the awe they felt most of the time playing.

A fascinating book about an album that well didn't make bluegrass cool, but brought it more into the stage lights. Music ebbs and flows, this one just caught the wave right Recommended for fans of the band, bluegrass and country music, and for people who like to read books about creativity and never being old enough to learn, and listening to those who have gone before and learning their lessons.

[Mark Shipp]

To say that any record album is life changing would be a huge exaggeration. However, the Will the Circle Be Unbroken album had a huge effect on me and on my musical tastes. I was a 17 year old freshman in college when I first bought this album. I had grown up listening to my Dad’s music, much of which was old country, hillbilly music he called it, featuring artists such as Hank Williams, Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, the Carter Family, and others. During my teenage years I developed my own tastes in music, and rebelled against my Dad’s tastes, considering them corny and making fun of the “Nudie” suits worn by Porter Wagoner, George Jones and others. My tastes had gravitated to the folk-rock of the day. Crosby Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, America, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band among others. My Dad, for the most part, didn’t care for my music, though he did comment when I played Crosby, Stills, and Nash that the harmonies were pretty good. When he put his music on the stereo, I generally found something else to do.

Knowing that I really liked the “Uncle Charlie and his Dog Teddy” album by the Dirt Band, a high school friend of mine who was now a DJ at an FM station suggested I might really like the “Circle” album. So, when I was perusing through the albums at Greeley’s Finest Record Store, I came across it. For a poor college student, the price of $12.99 (in 1974) was pretty steep, but I decided to take a chance, even though thinking about the Dirt Band play with the likes of Roy Acuff and Earl Scruggs caused some dissonance in my young brain. I went back to my dorm and played all six sides from start to finish and I have to say it was a musical revolution. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy every song, but it made a connection with my musical tastes and those of my Dad. I loved my father very much, but hearing this music brought me even closer to him. 50+ years later, this album is still at the top of my music collection and is truly timeless.

Enough about the album, this is supposed to be a book review. I was listening to the Buddy and Jim show on Sirius/XM Outlaw Country, and their guest was John McCuen, talking about a book he had written about the making of the Circle album. I dropped a few hints with my kids before Christmas and was gifted the book by one of my sons. Through a series of anecdotes, the making of this landmark album was brought to light and the stories were amazing. Like the musical tastes of my Dad and I, the traditional artists who were invited to participate in this project were very apprehensive about working with these young long-haired musicians. There’s more to it than this, but through playing music together, they all found common ground. Through the photography of producer William McCuen, the book brings the recording of this incredible album to life.

In short, if you are a fan of this music and this album, it is a must read.

[Cat]

So, SO happy to have been given the opportunity to read this book! I bought the album (still have it!) 50 years back and still love listning to it. I was raised on Country Swing, but was familiar with bluegrass from a shortwave my daddy gave me. I remember, at the time, wishing to have been the fly on the wall during it's planning and recording. What an age it was, the late 60's and 70's. I remember all to well the divide between the people of this nation and all the changes that were going on as the country changed (much like the past couple years...) but I was pretty young and enjoyed all music. Music at the time was undergoing so many changes, too. It was pretty surprising to see a hippie band and country musicians coming together to make an album-
absolutely history album!
Kudos John McEuen for putting together the book thatgives us fans a fly on the wall view of behind the scenes of this amazing album! ALways enjoyed the Dirt Band's music, too! You guys were just the best live band!

I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchngr for a fair review.

[Bruce Raterink]

As a fan of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and this album, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed. There are some great pictures, and some wonderful anecdotes but the book is in serious need of an editor. The same anecdotes and stories are repeated over and over and over. The entire book could be a third it's size with effective editing - and it was a pretty short to start with. Sorry. I can't recommend this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Backbeat publisher for an advanced reader copy.

[Phil Overeem]

Photos great, writing annoying but for some divulging of behind-the-scenes moments.

[Demetra Smith]

amazing