Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels (born on October 28, 1936) is an American musician known for his contributions to
countryCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and
southern rockSouthern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "
The Devil Went Down to Georgia"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album Million Mile Reflections....
", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer since the early 1950s. He was inducted into the
Grand Ole OpryThe Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
on January 24, 2008.
Career
Daniels is a singer, guitarist, and
fiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
r, who began writing and performing in the 1950s. In 1964, Daniels co-wrote "It Hurts Me" (a song which
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
recorded) with Joy Byers. He worked as a Nashville
session musicianSession musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, often for producer
Bob JohnstonDonald William Robert 'Bob' Johnston is a noted American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson and many Nashville recording artists, as well as Simon and Garfunkel.-Early days:Johnston was born into a professional musical family...
, including playing electric bass on three
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
albums during 1969 and 1970, and on recordings by
Leonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
. Daniels recorded his first solo album,
Charlie Daniels, in 1971 (see
1971 in country musicThis is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1971.-No dates:*Seeking younger, more urban viewers, CBS cancels nearly all of its rural-themed programming...
). He produced the 1969 album by
The YoungbloodsThe Youngbloods was an American folk rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young , Jerry Corbitt , Lowell Levinger, nicknamed "Banana," , and Joe Bauer . Despite receiving critical acclaim, they never achieved widespread popularity. Their only U.S. Top 40 entry was "Get Together".-Background and...
,
Elephant MountainElephant Mountain is an album by the American folk rock band The Youngbloods, released in 1969. It reached number 118 on the Billboard 200 chart.-History:...
and played the violin on "Darkness, Darkness".
His first hit, the
novelty songA novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
"
Uneasy Rider"Uneasy Rider" is a 1973 song written and performed by American singer and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Daniels. It consists of a narrative that is spoken rather than sung over a guitar melody and is sometimes considered a novelty song...
", was from his 1973 second album,
Honey in the Rock, and reached No.9 on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
During this period, Daniels played fiddle on many of The
Marshall Tucker BandThe Marshall Tucker Band is an American Southern rock band originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina. The band's blend of rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, country, and gospel helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s...
'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 JamThe Volunteer Jam was the annual Charlie Daniels Band concert first held on October 4, 1974 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee This was the beginning of a tradition....
concerts based in or around
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee, often playing with members of
Barefoot JerryBarefoot Jerry is an American Southern rock and country rock band, based in Nashville, Tennessee, most active from 1971 to 1977. It was composed of area studio musicians under the tutelage of Wayne Moss, lead guitarist of Area Code 615, and other 615 alumni. This name is also used to refer to Moss...
.
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 rockSouthern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
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.Randall Hank Williams , better known as Hank Williams, Jr. and Bocephus, is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and traditional country...
's 1975 album
Hank Williams, Jr. and FriendsHank Williams, Jr. & Friends is an album by American country music singer and songwriter Hank Williams, Jr., released in 1975 on MGM Records. It features Williams transitioning towards country rock. The album was issued by MGM Records as number M3G5009. Later reissued by Polydor Records as number...
.
Daniels won the
Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded from 1970 to 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:*In 1970 the award was known as Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group...
in 1979 for "
The Devil Went Down to Georgia"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album Million Mile Reflections....
", which reached #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 CowboyReleased as a 2× vinyl record album, re-released on CD in 1995.Side A:#Hello Texas – Jimmy Buffett #All Night Long – Joe Walsh #Times Like These – Dan Fogelberg #Nine Tonight – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band...
. 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 rockHard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
/
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
cover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the song was included in the video game
Guitar Hero III: Legends of RockGuitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...
as the final
guitar battleA guitar battle is where two or more guitar players take turns soloing, either with or without a rhythm section. The purpose of the guitar battle is to determine who among each of the guitar players present is the most proficient on the instrument...
against the last boss (Lou, the
devilThe Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
). 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"The Legend of Wooley Swamp" is the title of a song written and recorded by the Charlie Daniels Band. It was released in August 1980 as the second single from the album Full Moon, which was later certified platinum.-Content:...
" (#31 in 1980), and "
Still in Saigon"Still in Saigon", is a song written by Dan Daley and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1982 album Windows. It was written by Daley in May 1981....
" (#22 in 1982). In 1980, Daniels participated in the country music concept album,
The Legend of Jesse JamesThe Legend of Jesse James is a 1980 country music concept album by various artists singing songs by English songwriter Paul Kennerley, based on the story of American Old West outlaw Jesse James....
.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, several of Daniels' albums and singles were hits on the
CountryCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
charts and the music continues to receive airplay on country stations today. Daniels released several
GospelGospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and
ChristianChristian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
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.
In 2000, he composed and performed the score for the feature film
Across the LineAcross the Line is a 2000 American drama film directed by Martin Spottl and starring Brad Johnson and Sigal Erez. Johnson plays a small-town Texas sheriff who falls for an illegal immigrant who witnessed a murder on the Mexican border...
starring
Brad JohnsonBrad Johnson is an American actor and former Marlboro Man.Johnson's first acting credit was in the low-budget biker film The Nam Angels , and shortly after he had his first co-starring role in a major film when he played the role of Ted Baker in the 1989 film Always, directed by Steven Spielberg...
. In 2005, he made a cameo appearance along with
Larry the Cable GuyDaniel Lawrence Whitney , better known by his stage name and character Larry the Cable Guy, is an American comedian, actor, and former radio personality....
,
Kid RockRobert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
, and
Hank Williams, Jr.Randall Hank Williams , better known as Hank Williams, Jr. and Bocephus, is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and traditional country...
in
Gretchen WilsonGretchen Frances Wilson is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman," a number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song served as the lead-off single of her debut album, Here for the Party...
's music video for the song "
All Jacked Up"All Jacked Up" is a single, released in 2005, by American country music artist Gretchen Wilson. On the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated for August 6, 2005, "All Jacked Up" debuted at #21, setting a record for the highest ever debut by a female artist on the country charts...
". In 2006, he appeared with
Little RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
,
Bootsy CollinsWilliam Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American funk bassist, singer, and songwriter.Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s, and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the '70s, Collins's driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk...
, and other musicians as the backup band for Williams' opening sequence to
Monday Night FootballMonday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
.
On October 18, 2005, Charlie Daniels was honored as a
BMIBroadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
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 McBrideMartina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
to become a member of the
Grand Ole OpryThe Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
. He was inducted by
Marty StuartJohn Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
and
Connie SmithConnie Smith is an American country music artist. She began her career in 1963 after winning a local talent contest near Columbus, Ohio, which attracted the attention of country songwriter Bill Anderson...
during the January 19, 2008, edition of the Opry at the
Ryman AuditoriumThe Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located at 115 5th Avenue North, in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry....
.
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
UPSUnited Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
in 2001 with other celebrities convincing
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
driver
Dale JarrettDale Arnold Jarrett is a former American race car driver and current sports commentator known for winning the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship...
to race the UPS Truck.
William Joel "Taz" DiGregorioWilliam Joel "Taz" DiGregorio was a longtime member and keyboardist for the Charlie Daniels Band. He was self-taught on the keyboards, practicing from tunes by Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and Little Richard following his attendance at a Ray Charles concert.-Musical career:He fulfilled his goal of...
, Daniels' keyboardist, died in a car accident in Cheatham County, Tennessee, on 12 October 2011.
Daniels is currently featured playing fiddle in a television commercial for
GEICOThe Government Employees Insurance Company is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance...
auto insuranceVehicle insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage and/or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise therefrom...
.
Political statements
"The South's Gonna Do It" had a mild message of Southern cultural identity within the Southern rock movement. Daniels was an early supporter of
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
's
presidentialThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
bid and performed at his January 1977 inauguration.
"
In America"In America", is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band. It was released in May 1980 as the lead single from their album Full Moon...
" was a reaction to the 1979–1981
Iran Hostage CrisisThe Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
; it described a patriotic, united America where "we'll all stick together and you can take that to the bank / That's the cowboys and the hippies and the rebels and the yanks." The song experienced a revival following the September 11 attacks, when it was floated around the internet as "F***
Bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
." In contrast, "
Still in Saigon"Still in Saigon", is a song written by Dan Daley and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1982 album Windows. It was written by Daley in May 1981....
" (written by Dan Daley) was an effective portrayal of the plight of the American
Vietnam veteranVietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...
ten years after the war; it was part of an early 1980s wave of attention to the subject, presaging treatments such as
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's "
Born in the U.S.A."Born in the U.S.A." is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. Taken from the album of the same name, it is one of his best-known singles. Rolling Stone ranked the song 275th on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2001, the RIAA's Songs of the Century placed...
" and "Shut Out the Light",
Billy JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
's "
Goodnight Saigon"Goodnight Saigon" is a song written by Billy Joel, originally appearing on his 1982 album The Nylon Curtain, about the Vietnam War. It depicts the situation and attitude of United States Marines beginning with their military training on Parris Island and then into different aspects of Vietnam...
",
Huey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...
' "Walking on a Thin Line",
Paul HardcastlePaul Hardcastle is an English composer and musician, specialising in the synthesizer.-Discography:In the early 1980s, Hardcastle played the keyboards on several singles on the Oval record label by the dance music groups Direct Drive and First Light, before going solo.He achieved some acclaim for...
's "
19"19" is a song by British musician Paul Hardcastle released as the first single from his self-titled third studio album Paul Hardcastle ....
" and somewhat later
Steve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
's "Copperhead Road".
In 1989, Daniels' country hit "Simple Man" was interpreted by some as advocating vigilantism. Lyrics such as "Just take them rascals [rapists, killers, child abusers] out in the swamp / Put 'em on their knees and tie 'em to a stump / Let the rattlers and the bugs and the alligators do the rest," got Daniels considerable media attention and talk show visits.
In 2003, Daniels published an
Open Letter to the Hollywood Bunch in defense of President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's
IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
policy. His 2003 book
Ain't No Rag: Freedom, Family, and the Flag contains this letter as well as many other personal statements. During the 2004 presidential campaign, Daniels said that having never served in the military himself, he did not have the right to criticize
John KerryJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
's service record. His band's official website contains a "soapbox" page, where Daniels has made statements such as the following: "In the future Darwinism will be looked upon as we now look upon the flat earth theory," and "I am more afraid of you and your ilk than I am of the terrorists," regarding
U.S. SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Harry ReidHarry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
. On March 27, 2009, Daniels criticized the Obama Administration for "changing the name of the War on Terror to the "
Overseas Contingency OperationThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
" and referring to terrorism as "man-caused disasters"".
Personal life
Charlie Daniels was born October 28, 1936, in Wilmington, N.C., 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. He graduated from high school in 1955. Already skilled on guitar, piano, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin, Daniels formed a rock 'n' roll band and hit the road.
Charlie Daniels enjoys hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities. He is a member and supporter of the
National Rifle AssociationThe National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
(NRA). Daniels married his wife, Hazel, in 1963. Together, they have one son, as well as three grandchildren. 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.
External links