Charlie Daniels

October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020

Having had a music career that began in the 1950s, Charlie Daniels was both a pioneer of southern rock and an American institution. The Charlie Daniels Band, best known for their signature 1979 hit The Devil Went Down To Georgia, about a lad named Johnny who defeats Beelzebub in a fiddle-playing contest for a shiny instrument made of gold, continued to tour and record music up until his death at the age of 83. Health had gradually failed him over the past two decades, during which time he battled prostate cancer and suffered a stroke and pneumonia. He had a pacemaker fitted to control his heart. Cause of death was a stroke.

Born in Washington, North Carolina, Daniels relocated to Nashville and became a session musician, and played on records by Leonard Cohen, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan, among others. His self-titled solo debut album was released in 1970, and after that he released a raft of albums, including the US Country Charttopping Million Mile Reflections in 1979.

Daniels’s all-star Volunteer Jam event, first staged in 1974 and running until 2018, became a staple of the US music scene, hosting artists such as Willie Nelson, Ted Nugent, the Allman Brothers Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Grinderswitch, Kid Rock and Blackberry Smoke.

Away from music, Daniels raised funds and awareness for cancer and muscular dystrophy research, the physically and mentally challenged, farmers and the armed forces. Over the years his politics swung from left to right. A fierce nationalist, following the Twin Towers attacks Daniels made headlines with a song called This Ain’t No Rag, It’s A Flag.

US President Donald Trump tweeted: “We will miss GREAT Country Rocker, Charlie Daniels… Charlie is in my thoughts and prayers. I love his music.”