Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels (born on October 28, 1936) is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is perhaps best known for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has written and performed. Daniels has been active as a singer since the early 1950s. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on January 24, 2008.
Daniels is a singer, guitarist, and fiddler, who began writing and performing in the 1950s. In 1964, Daniels co-wrote "It Hurts Me" (a song which Elvis Presley recorded) with Joy Byers. He worked as a Nashville session musician, often for producer Bob Johnston, including playing 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 produced the 1969 album by The Youngbloods, “Elephant Mountain” and played the violin on "Darkness, Darkness".
His first hit, the novelty song "Uneasy Rider", was from his 1973 second 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, WI on July 11, 1974.
In 1974, Daniels 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, these jams have continued ever since.
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 played 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 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. Daniels appeared in the movie. The song is by far Daniels' greatest success, still receiving regular airplay on U.S. classic rock and country stations, and is well-known even among audiences who eschew country music in general. A hard rock/heavy metal cover version of the song was included in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as the final guitar battle against the last boss (Lou, the devil). Daniels has openly stated his opposition to the metal cover and the devil winning occasionally in the game.
Subsequent Daniels pop hits included "In America" (#11 in 1980), "The Legend of Wooley Swamp" (#31 in 1980), and "Still in Saigon" (#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 today. 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 was used in Frank Wildhorn's 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.
In 2000, he composed and performed the score for the feature film Across the Line starring Brad Johnson. He guest starred as himself in an episode of King of the Hill titled “The Bluegrass is Always Greener”, which aired on February 24, 2002. In 2005, he made a cameo appearance along with Larry the Cable Guy, Kid Rock, and Hank Williams, Jr. in Gretchen Wilson's music video for the song "All Jacked Up". In 2006, he appeared with Little Richard, Bootsy Collins, and other musicians as the backup band for Williams' opening sequence to Monday Night Football.
On October 18, 2005, Daniels was honored as a BMI Icon at the 53rd annual BMI Country Awards. Throughout his career, Daniels' songwriting has garnered 6 BMI Country Awards; the first award was won in 1976 for "The South's Gonna Do It Again".
In November 2007, Daniels was invited by Martina McBride to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was inducted by Marty Stuart and Connie Smith during the January 19, 2008, edition of the Opry at the Ryman Auditorium.
Daniels now resides in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, where the city has named a park after him. Daniels continues to tour regularly. Daniels appeared in commercials for UPS in 2001 with other celebrities convincing NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett to race the UPS Truck.
R.I.P.
William Joel "Taz" DiGregorio, Daniels' keyboardist, died in a car accident in Cheatham County, Tennessee, on 12 October 2011.
BY JOE EDWARDS, The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Country star Charlie Daniels says his longtime keyboardist and co-writer of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" had his own musical personality.
Joel "Taz" DiGregorio, 67, was killed Wednesday night in a single-car accident on Interstate 40 west of Nashville while en route to Georgia for a Charlie Daniels Band concert that has since been canceled. He was alone when his car flipped going around a curve, Daniels said.
"He was an intricate part of our sound for 40 years," Daniels said Thursday in a telephone interview. "If you listened to our records, you could hear Taz all over them. He had a riff in `The Devil Went Down to Georgia' which was his idea."
Wearing an ever present cowboy hat and always to Daniels' right on stage, DiGregorio was a fixture of the band's rocking persona.
"He just fit in with our music for 40 years. It won't be easy without him," Daniels said.
The Charlie Daniels Band has canceled the concert Thursday in Cumming, Ga., and a show in Waterbury, Conn., on Saturday.
Daniels said he will resume performing next Friday and Saturday in Oklahoma with just five members.
"I won't replace him now," Daniels said. "I can't come to grips with replacing him right now, but I will."
DiGregorio is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
"He just had a unique way," Daniels said. "We'll live with this and deal with it."
Listen to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia":
Daniels is currently featured playing fiddle in a television commercial for GEICO auto insurance.
Daniels was born October 28, 1936, in Wilmington, North Carolina, and raised on a musical diet that included Pentecostal gospel, local bluegrass bands and the rhythm & blues and country music from Nashville's 50,000-watt radio stations WLAC and WSM. Daniels grew up in the small town of Gulf located in Chatham County, North Carolina. His childhood home still stands in Gulf but is currently in a state of disrepair. He graduated from high school in 1955. Already skilled on guitar, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin, Daniels formed a rock 'n' roll band and hit the road.
Daniels enjoys hunting, fishing, skydiving, and other outdoor activities. He is a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Daniels married his wife, Hazel, in 1963. Together, they have one son, Charlie Daniels, Jr. On January 15, 2010, Daniels was rushed to the hospital after suffering a stroke while snowmobiling in Colorado. He recovered and was released 2 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 expected to be out of the hospital the next day.
My Next Post
In my next post, I’ll be covering one of the greatest American Southern rock bands of all time; Lynyrd Skynyrd. They are generally classified as an American rock band best known for popularizing the southern hard-rock genre during the 1970s. Originally formed in 1964 as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tunes "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird." However, at the peak of their success, three members died in an airplane crash in 1977, putting an abrupt end to the band's most popular incarnation.
I hope you take the time to read it and share your comments with me.
It is always great to learn more about the icons of the guitar/music world that we all strive to mimic in our own way each and every day.
Now, until next time, please remember to “Support Live Music”. It keeps all musicians working. and that is very important Your support is appreciated.
MUSICIAN by Night
GOD Save “The Blues”
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