Charlie Daniels Goes to College

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April 15, 2008 - Charlie Daniels once gave Satan a figurative lesson or two in the storyline of 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia.' Now Charlie's in line to be honored by an educational institution.
Cumberland University, in Lebanon, Tenn., plans to present Charlie and his wife, Hazel, with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award during the college's commencement ceremony May 3. The award, named for a Southerner noted for his philanthropy during the 1800s, recognizes the recipient for work on behalf of the community.
'Charlie and Hazel Daniels have always championed service above self and have led truly inspiring lives,' Cumberland President Harvill Eaton said.
'It is a very special thing to be honored by your friends and neighbors,' Charlie countered.
It's something that's become familiar to Charlie in the past few months. He was added to the Grand Ole Opry earlier this year, Country Radio Broadcasters presented him a Career Achievement Award, and the State of Tennessee gave him a certificate of merit during a party celebrating his 50th anniversary in the music business."

Music Row Celebrates Charlie Daniels' 50-Year Career

Music Row Celebrates Charlie Daniels' 50-Year Career
Bandleader Still Thriving as an Independent Act
By: Edward Morris

Courtesy CMT

A beaming and grateful Charlie Daniels basked in the adulation of friends, fans and business associates at a party held Wednesday (March 19) at BMI's Nashville headquarters to celebrate the bandleader's 50th anniversary in the music business."I have had a wonderful time in the last 50 years," Daniels told the crowd, "and I'm ready to do another 50." The North Carolina native began performing professionally in 1958 in a band called the Rockets.

Jody Williams, BMI's vice president of writer-publisher relations, led a parade of well-wishers who came forward to stand beside Daniels and recite some of his more notable achievements. Also accompanying the guest of honor were his wife, Hazel, and son, Charlie Jr.Williams noted that "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," probably Daniels' best-known work, has been broadcast more than 4 million times. "Charlie helped create the Southern rock genre," Williams continued. "The West Coast had Jerry Garcia [of the Grateful Dead]. We have Charlie Daniels. ... Charlie's a bridge from the past to present."

Williams cited the long series of Volunteer Jam concerts Daniels has presided over since launching them in 1974, noting that they brought together artists of all musical stripes, including such luminaries as B.B. King, Don Henley, Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, Ted Nugent, Little Richard, James Brown and Willie Nelson.

A representative from the William Morris Agency pointed out that during the 21 years the company has booked Daniels' personal appearances, he has played 3,000 concerts for a combined audience of 5 million people and, in the process, grossed $60 million.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen sent his congratulations, and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, delivered his in person. Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, Tennessee's adjutant general, praised Daniels for his longstanding support of the military. "If there's a patriot in our state," he said, "it's Charlie."Publicist Cathy Gurley, who represents the Spirit of America tour of stateside military installations, read a letter from President and Mrs. George W. Bush in praise of the Charlie Daniels Band's continued involvement in the program.

Williams presented Daniels a watch from the widow of Toy Caldwell, a founder of the Marshall Tucker Band and Daniels' long-time friend. It carried the inscription, "To Charlie in loving memory of Toy. I love you. Abbie Caldwell."

David Corlew, Daniels' manager and friend of 35 years, reminded the guests that Daniels initiated the now-common practice of making his albums available through an exclusive source when he signed such a deal 11 years ago with Wal-Mart. (Ricky Van Shelton made a similar agreement with Wal-Mart the same year.) Garth Brooks and the Eagles later followed suit. Corlew said Daniels sold 100,000 albums in nine months via that association.

Altogether, Corlew stated, Daniels has sold more than 800,000 albums as an independent artist. Copies of Deuces, the Charlie Daniels Band's latest album, were on display for guests to pick up on their way out.

Reporters packed a BMI conference room before the party started to have a few words with Daniels. Unlike most artists, he arrived early for the press conference and walked around the room to greet each reporter individually.Asked how he would advise younger artists who aspire to be around as long as he's been, Daniels said, "First of all, you make sure it's what you want to do ... and you've got to be where there is a music business.

"Raised in rural North Carolina, Daniels said he was 15 years old before he saw a picture on a TV screen. His link to the outside world, he explained, was through radio, and he remembered the first show he listened to was the Grand Ole Opry. He made his first visit to the Opry in 1954, first played on the program with Earl Scruggs' band and finally became a member this year. "I'm still in awe of that great institution," he said.

Daniels contrasted the music business today and what it was like when he came into it. He pointed out that he was in his 40s when he signed with Epic Records and began having his greatest chart successes. He said his first contract with Epic called for six albums, but that today's artists have to score hits immediately to stay on a label.

Being a bandleader means trusting your players' musicianship and instincts, Daniels said. "I don't tell people what to play," he explained. "I want you to do what you do." The biggest changes in the music business he's noted over the years, he said, have been in recording technology and travel. "The roads have improved a lot," he said. "You can get there faster."

Daniels said his greatest cause for satisfaction is that he's kept more than 25 people "gainfully employed" over the past 25 or 30 years. As to who's hot and who's not on the charts these days, he confessed, "I can't even tell you one song out of the Top 10 in any field of music."

View photos from the tribute to Charlie Daniels.

Charlie Daniels' Littlest Achievement

From CMT

Posted: March 7th, 2008 at 12:31 pm | By: Alison Bonaguro

A couple days ago, Charlie Daniels received a Career Achievement Award from the Country Radio Broadcasters. It honors the artists who have made "a significant contribution to the development and promotion of country music and radio." And he has certainly done that. But he's also made a smaller and perhaps less significant contribution to the world of music: He inspired a very unlikely fiddle player in my six-year-old daughter. If there was an award for that, I'm pretty sure he'd get that too.

Taylor Swift gets an awful lot of credit for bringing a younger demo into country music, but guys like Daniels are doing it too. While adults bask in Daniels' rebel brand of Southern country-rock, all my budding fiddler knew was that the music was so good she wanted to rosin up her bow and play that fiddle hard. She knew nothing of his heyday in the early 80s. She had no idea what his political stance was, or what his lyrics meant. ("Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough/Granny does your dog bite? No, child, no"

Who does know what that means?)

This Charlie Daniels epiphany my daughter had at such a young age gained some closure when Gretchen Wilson admitted in "Redneck Woman" that she knew all the words to every Charlie Daniels song. Her little mind seemed to reason that if he was good enough for Gretchen, he was certainly good enough for her. He is the quintessential country boy, she is the quintessential little girl. They made an odd pair the day she finally met him, and she asked him to autograph her pink fiddle. That fiddle, her first and therefore most beloved, has become something of a trophy in our house. If my prodigy sticks with this talent of hers, she may go on to win her own mantel full of ACMs, CMAs and Grammys. But the fiddle with Charlie Daniels' name on it will always be the one she treasures most.

Charlie helps christen ship made from 9/11 WTC steel

March 5, 2008 - Charlie Daniels took part over the weekend in the christening of a ship that is being constructed in part with pieces from the wreckage of the World Trade Center.
Charlie was on hand to perform during a ceremony at the Northrop Grumman shipyard in Avondale, La., on Saturday. According to The New York Daily News, Dotty England, the wife of Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, handled the official christening by smashing a champagne bottle across the hull.
Some 7.5 tons of steel, recovered from the Trade Center, are being used to fashion the boat's bow stem. The ship will be commissioned in New York City in the fall of 2009.
Charlie meanwhile took part in another ceremony last night. He received a Career Achievement Award during an event at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville.

Courtesy GAC -- Charlie Daniels Handling Shipping

Obama plays me some fiddle...

From the New York Times
A Mighty Fine Place to Be
By Jeff Zeleny

HOUSTON – “Texas,” that classic two-step from the Charlie Daniels Band was playing here tonight when Senator Barack Obama took the stage to claim his Wisconsin prize.
One week ago, Mr. Obama delivered his victory speech for the Potomac primaries during a rally in Madison, Wis. So when news of his Wisconsin triumph arrived tonight, he had already moved onto Texas.
“Houston,” Mr. Obama said, “I think we have achieved liftoff here.”
In the Toyota Center, where a crowd of 20,000 people had filled the arena that is home to the Houston Rockets, Mr. Obama stood on stage for several minutes as applause lingered. His traditional welcoming song by U2 was replaced tonight by the Charlie Daniels Band.

There’s a place not too far away from here
Out with the cows and the Lone Star beer
Where the livin’ and lovin’ is quite all right with me
Well they call it Texas and it’s a mighty fine place to be

Mr. Obama, who won his 24th state tonight in his bid to win the Democratic presidential race, spent little time in his speech dwelling on Wisconsin. He looked ahead to March 4, when he will find out just how mighty fine a place Texas is for his candidacy.
“Y’all know how to do it in Texas,” Mr. Obama said. He added: “The change we seek is still months and miles away and we need the good people of Texas to help us get there.”
With Wisconsin in the books – by dawn Hawaii will be, too – there is a two week pause in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. It is the longest break yet in the chaotic two-month series of primaries and caucuses.
It is a time for regrouping and reassessing – for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mr. Obama as well, whose campaign spent much of the hours leading up to the rally tonight dealing with a third-straight day of news coverage about the similarities between his speeches and those of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a longtime friend from Chicago.
In his 45-minute address tonight, Mr. Obama referred by name to Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona. Not so for Mrs. Clinton, who he extended only a few oblique references to.
There will be no such luxury on Thursday night, when the Democratic rivals face off at a debate in Austin on the campus of the University of Texas. Mrs. Clinton placed a brief telephone call to Mr. Obama at 9:45 p.m. in Texas, aides said, extending her congratulations on his Wisconsin victory.
“Every week, the coalition is growing,” David Axelrod, the chief strategist for the Obama campaign, said in an interview. Looking ahead, he added: “We’re not going to get drawn into a contest of insults. I don’t think anyone is looking for that.”
Stay tuned. The next election night is only 14 days away.

Trace Takes Advice From Charlie Daniels

Trace Takes Advice From Charlie Daniels (GAC)

February 6, 2008 — When Trace Adkins was considering the idea of writing a book about his social and political beliefs, he wasn't sure it would go over well with fans. So he consulted with another country singer who's unafraid to share his views: Charlie Daniels.

"I was worried about offending people," Trace told The Toronto Star, "and Charlie told me, 'The people that aren't gonna like you because of the book don't like you now, so you might as well go ahead.'"

As a result, Trace wrote A Personal Stand: Observations And Opinions From A Freethinking Roughneck, which combines tales from his own life with his take on the world at large.

Surprisingly, the book was actually inspired by someone from the other side of the political fence. That would be his manager, Ken Levitan.

"Politically," Trace said, "we're diametrically opposed. He's a liberal, and every conversation ends with him saying, 'You should write a book.' Well, I did, and I hope it helps others discover what our relationship is all about, what we should all be working for — just learning to get on with each other."

Grand Ole Opry Inducts Charlie Daniels As Newest Member

NASHVILLE, TN. (Top40 Charts/ Grand Ole Opry) - Legendary country superstar Charlie Daniels was inducted into the world-famous Grand Ole Opry by Opry members Marty Stuart and Connie Smith.

Stuart welcomed Daniels into Opry membership, before a sold-out crowd, by saying, "The Opry is American and its reach is universal. A steady force in the midst of passing trends. The Opry is family. God Bless Charlie Daniels."

Daniels responded, "My Bible tells me God gives us the desires of our hearts and tonight the promise has come true." He then invited Stuart, Smith, Montgomery Gentry and Trace Adkins to join him on stage to perform "Will The Circle Be Unbroken."

During the induction which aired live on "Opry Live" on GAC: Great American Country, Daniels was also presented the Opry Member Award, a 14-inch bronze and oak wood replica of the Opry's vintage microphone stand designed by renowned sculptor Bill Rains.

"What a great night for the Opry," said Pete Fisher, Opry vice president and general manager. "For five decades, Charlie Daniels has been sharing the many musical styles he performs so well with the world. We are truly proud to welcome him to our Opry family, and we look forward to the years ahead filled with great Charlie Daniels Band music on the Opry stage."

During Daniels' 50-year career, he has scored hits on the rock, country, pop and Christian charts and counts awards from the Country Music Association (CMA), Academy of Country Music (ACM), TNN/Music City News Awards, and the Gospel Music Association (GMA) among his many accolades. Born in Wilmington, NC, he was raised on a musical diet that included Pentecostal gospel, local bluegrass bands, rhythm & blues, and country music from the radio, including Nashville's 650 WSM. His signature song, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," topped both country and pop charts, bringing him international acclaim.

Daniels' current Blue Hat/Koch Records CD release, DEUCES, is his first duet album and features guest artists Travis Tritt; Bonnie Bramlett; Gretchen Wilson; Vince Gill; Earl, Gary & Randy Scruggs; Dolly Parton; Darius Rucker; The Del McCoury Band; Brenda Lee; Brooks & Dunn; Marty Stuart; Montgomery Gentry; and Brad Paisley.

From HHE