[1] In the UK, they are perhaps best known for their recording "Pickin' the Blues", which was used for many years by the disc jockey John Peel as the theme tune for his BBC radio shows.
Grinderswitch’s earliest incarnation began in 1972 when Allman Brothers roadie and guitar tech Joe Dan Petty was looking to put a band together.
[2] Les Dudek, a guitar player who got word that Dickey Betts was starting a side band from the Allmans, travelled to Macon, Georgia to audition.
[4] During this time Dru Lombar had also caught wind of Joe Dan Petty forming a band and travelled to Macon to complete the formation of Grinderswitch.
The newly formed band went to stay at a farm near Warner Robins, Georgia to rehearse and eventually gain the interest of Paul Hornsby and Phil Walden of Capricorn Records.