To nail down the exact story of The Grass Roots is no easy task; after all, the group, which has been performing since 1965, has enjoyed participation by nearly 60 members over the decades. But regardless of who played what and when and under what name, what matters is the music. And for generations of classic-rock music fans, The Grass Roots’ catalog is earworm goodness defined, nostalgia nectar for a generation raised on AM radio.
The core of the group’s appeal is undeniably a fertile 10-year period from the ’60s to ’70s, during which time it produced timeless hits like “Where Were You When I Needed You,” “Let’s Live for Today,” “Midnight Confessions,” “Sooner or Later,” “The River is Wide,” “Temptation Eyes,” “Wait a Million Years,” “Things I Should Have Said” and so many more. They also enjoyed a boost in exposure when one of the former members, Creed Bratton, appeared on the megahit NBC comedy The Office.
The band’s current lineup of Mark Dawson, Dusty Hanvey, Larry Nelson and Joe Dougherty have been together for more than 11 years, and in 2015 they were all smiles as The Grass Roots was inducted into the American Pop Music Hall of Fame (a class that also included Barry Manilow, Neil Sedaka and Barbra Streisand).
As long as audiences want to revisit music from classic bands, The Grass Roots will live on—regardless of who’s in the band.
Golden Nugget, 8 p.m. Sept. 6, starting at $29 plus tax and fee. ticketmaster.com
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