Charlie Daniels

• Genre: Southern Rock
• Hometown: Wilmington
• Charlie Daniels Website

About

People have a hard time believing that the man who wrote "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" also played on such Bob Dylan albums as Nashville Skyline, Self Portrait, New Morning, and Dylan. Charlie Daniels was known as the long haired country boy with adroit musical skills that were a true gift from the gods of music. In his heyday, Daniels surrounded himself with an ever changing team of exquisitely talented musicians that contributed to his trademark sound: strict country music with an edgy injection of Southern Rock, blues shuffles and Boogie Rock overtones. Aside from making music that would soon pump from the speakers of Bo and Luke's General Lee, Daniels wrote songs that Elvis Presley covered; he played with Leonard Cohen's touring band in the 1960s, and even produced the Youngbloods' album Elephant Memory. Daniels managed to install a set of ethics for his fan-base-turned-subculture when he penned its anthem, "Long Haired Country Boy" with: "People say I'm no good and crazy as a loon / Cause I get stoned in the morning, get drunk in the afternoon. / Kinda like my old blue tick hound I like to lay around in the shade / I ain't got no money but I've damn sure got it made.../ I don't want much of nothing at all but I will take another toke."

- Eric Shea