Formed 1966, Long Beach, California · recorded the hit version for Liberty Records
The Dirt Band formed in Long Beach in 1966 and, after a 1969 regrouping around Jeff Hanna, John McEuen, Jimmie Fadden and Jimmy Ibbotson, cut “Mr. Bojangles” for Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy, released on Liberty Records in 1970. It became their first major hit, reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it is the arrangement most listeners carry in their heads. The only error in the popular memory is chronological — their reading is a genuinely lovely record, and it is a cover.
Who recorded it
Songs credited to Nitty Gritty Dirt Band that are covers