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Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was founded in [[Long Beach, California]], in 1966. Founding guitarist [[Jeff Hanna]] was born and raised in [[Detroit, Michigan]], but his family had moved to Long Beach four years prior.<ref name="encyclopedia"/> While in high school, he befriended guitarist Bruce Kunkel, and the two played in a local duo called the New Coast Two.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-nitty-gritty-dirt-band-mn0000718907 | title=Nitty Gritty Dirt Band biography | publisher=[[AllMusic]] | accessdate=July 8, 2024 | author=Mark Deming}}</ref> As they wanted to form a larger group, the two began playing impromptu jam sessions at a Long Beach music shop called McCabe's Guitar Shop. Through these performances, they recruited four other musicians. These were Jimmie Fadden, who at the time played [[washtub bass]], harmonica, and guitar, along with Ralph Barr (guitar, [[clarinet]]), Les Thompson (guitar, [[mandolin]]), and [[Jackson Browne]] (guitar). All six members also served as vocalists. Browne quit the group after only a few months and was replaced by [[John McEuen]], who contributed on guitar, mandolin, banjo, and washtub bass.<ref name="allmusic"/> They briefly called themselves the Illegitimate Jug Band before selecting the name Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.<ref name="encyclopedia"/>
John's older brother William served as the band's manager, helping to book them as opening acts for artists such as [[Joan Baez]]. He also helped the band sign a contract with [[Liberty Records]], who released the band's [[The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (album)|self-titled debut album]] that year.<ref name="encyclopedia"/> "Buy for Me the Rain" was released as a single from this project, and it reached number 45 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].<ref name="whitburn2010">{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Top Pop Singles 1955–2010|publisher=Record Research, Inc|page=653|year=2011|isbn=978-0-89820-188-8}}</ref> The band released another album for Liberty, ''[[Ricochet (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album)|Ricochet]]'', later in 1967. After this album, Kunkel quit over creative differences in the band's sound, and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist [[Chris Darrow]].<ref name="allmusic"/> Of their style at the time, Mary Campbell of the [[Associated Press]] noted the band's use of acoustic instruments and rudimentary traditional folk instruments such as washtub bass, [[kazoo]], [[comb and paper]], and [[jug (instrument)|jug]]. She also noted that their clothing and song choices, such as a cover of "[[Teddy Bears' Picnic]]", reflected the music and mindset of the 1920s.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/114660103/ | title=Nitty Gritty Dirt Band mixes then and now | work=[[Poughkeepsie Journal]] | date=October 14, 1967 | accessdate=July 8, 2024 | author=Mary Campbell | pages=1, 3}}</ref>
Their third album, 1968's ''[[Rare Junk]]'', was their first to feature electric guitar, electric bass, and drums.<ref name="allmusic"/> Although Browne had left the band by this point, they covered his "[[These Days (Jackson Browne song)|These Days]]" on it. [[Johnny Sandlin]] contributed on drums.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=Rare Junk |others=Nitty Gritty Dirt Band |date=1968 |type=LP jacket |publisher=Liberty Records |id=LST-7540}}</ref> Bob Talbert of ''[[The State (newspaper)|The State]]'' praised the album for the variety of instruments used, noting that said variety allowed influences of [[jazz]] and [[country music]] on top of the group's existing jug band sound.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/749846851/ | title=Record reviews | work=[[The State (newspaper)|The State]] | date=April 14, 1968 | accessdate=July 9, 2024 | author=Bob Talbert}}</ref> A year later, Liberty released a live album titled ''[[Alive (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album)|Alive]]'', recorded at the [[Troubadour (West Hollywood, California)|Troubadour]] in [[West Hollywood, California]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/alive-mw0000866007 | title=''Alive'' | publisher=AllMusic | accessdate=July 9, 2024 | author=Bruce Eder}}</ref> That same year, the band contributed the song "Hand Me Down That Can o' Beans" to the soundtrack of the movie ''[[Paint Your Wagon (film)|Paint Your Wagon]]'', starring [[Lee Marvin]].<ref name="allmusic"/><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/504508491/ | title=Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | work=[[The Windsor Star]] | date=December 20, 1969 | accessdate=July 9, 2024 | pages=39}}</ref> Coinciding with the recording of this song, the band members moved to [[Aspen, Colorado]].<ref name="allmusic"/>
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