In Memoriam|

Charlie Daniels in Sept. 2017 (Photo from the office of the Governor of Maryland)

Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for his contributions to Southern rock, country, and bluegrass music. He was best known for his number-one country hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”. Daniels was active as a singer and musician from the 1950s. He was inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame in 2002, the Grand Ole Opry in 2008, the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009, and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.

In 1964, Daniels co-wrote “It Hurts Me” (a song which Elvis Presley recorded) with his friend, producer Bob Johnston, under Bob’s wife’s name, Joy Byers. He worked as a Nashville session musician, often for Johnston, including playing guitar and electric bass on three Bob Dylan albums during 1969 and 1970, and on recordings by Leonard Cohen. Daniels recorded his first solo album, Charlie Daniels, in 1971 (see 1971 in country music). He also produced the 1969 album by the Youngbloods, Elephant Mountain.

His first hit, the novelty song “Uneasy Rider”, was from his 1973 third album, Honey in the Rock, and reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

During this period, Daniels played fiddle on many of the Marshall Tucker Band’s early albums: “A New Life”, “Where We All Belong”, “Searchin’ For a Rainbow”, “Long Hard Ride” and “Carolina Dreams”. Daniels can be heard on the live portion of the “Where We All Belong” album, recorded in Milwaukee on July 31, 1974. The same year, he organized the first in a series of Volunteer Jam concerts based in or around Nashville, Tennessee, often playing with members of Barefoot Jerry. Except for a three-year gap in the late 1980s, the Jams continued until 1996. In 1999, the first of several Volunteer Jam Tours began, and in 2015, a Jam celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first Volunteer Jam was held at Bridgestone Arena, and another followed in 2016 celebrating his 80th birthday. In 1975, he had a top 30 hit as leader of the Charlie Daniels Band with the Southern rock self-identification anthem “The South’s Gonna Do It Again”. “Long Haired Country Boy” was a minor hit in that year. Daniels plays fiddle on Hank Williams, Jr.’s 1975 album Hank Williams, Jr. and Friends.

Daniels won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance in 1979 for “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1979. The following year, “Devil” became a major crossover success on rock radio stations after its inclusion on the soundtrack for the hit movie Urban Cowboy, in which he makes an onscreen appearance. The song still receives regular airplay on U.S. classic rock and country stations. A hard rock/heavy metal cover version of the song is included in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as the final guitar battle against the last boss (Lou, the devil). Daniels openly stated his opposition to the metal cover and the devil winning occasionally in the game.

In 1993, Daniels teamed up with fiddler Mark O’Connor to record a sequel to Daniels’ 1979 single “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” titled “The Devil Came Back to Georgia”. Daniels plays the fiddle alongside O’Connor, while Johnny Cash, Marty Stuart and Travis Tritt sing the lyrics. The song is on O’Connor’s album Heroes.

Subsequent Daniels’ pop hits include “In America” (number 11 in 1980), “The Legend of Wooley Swamp” (number 31 in 1980), and “Still in Saigon” (number 22 in 1982). In 1980, Daniels participated in the country music concept album The Legend of Jesse James. In the late 1980s and 1990s, several of Daniels’ albums and singles were hits on the country charts, and the music continues to receive airplay on country stations. Daniels released several gospel and Christian records. In 1999, he made a guest vocal appearance on his song “All Night Long” with Montgomery Gentry (Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry) for their debut album Tattoos and Scars, which was a commercial success.

Daniels’ distinctive speaking voice is used in the 1999 musical The Civil War. He is featured in the prologue and “In Great Deeds”. Daniels was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 1999.

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Daniels married Hazel Juanita Alexander on September 20, 1964. They had one child, a son, Charles Edward Daniels Jr. An avid University of Tennessee sports fan, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, and other outdoor activities. He was a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and performed on their videos.

Daniels suffered a major arm injury on January 30, 1980, while digging fence post holes on his farm near Mount Juliet. He suffered three complete breaks in his right arm and two broken fingers when his shirtsleeve caught on a spinning auger. The injury required surgery and sidelined him for four months.

Daniels was successfully treated for prostate cancer in 2001. On January 15, 2010, Daniels was rushed to the hospital after suffering a stroke while snowmobiling in Colorado. He was released two days later. During a doctor visit on March 25, 2013, Daniels was diagnosed with a mild case of pneumonia and admitted to a Nashville hospital for a series of routine tests. The tests revealed that a pacemaker was needed to regulate his heart rate. One was put in on March 28, and Daniels was released from hospital within days.

Daniels died on July 6, 2020, at the age of 83 of a hemorrhagic stroke at Summit Medical Center in Nashville.

Read a more fully developed bio at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Daniels

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