The Charlie Daniels Band

My Worst Birthday Ever - Soapbox Jr.

My worst birthday was my 15th birthday on April 28, 1980.

Was it because I was spoiled and I didn�t get what I wanted?

No, although our plans did change at the last minute because of a tragedy.

It all started off well enough, I was out with Dad and the band for spring break, and we were in Los Angeles for Dad to do a few things, one, he and the band were scheduled to appear on the 15th Annual ACM - Academy of Country Music Awards show from Knott�s Berry Farm, and the CDB was recording one song �In America� at The Record Plant for reasons Dad didn�t remember the last time we talked about it which was probably shortly before he went home in 2020.

So, there was a lot going on, and one thing that was going to happen was we were going to go to Universal Studios Hollywood for my birthday, and I was super excited!

Back then it was less of a theme park than it is today, and the highlight was the Backlot Tour, but for a soon-to-be 15-year-old movie fan, this was gonna be great!

Then the tragedy struck.

On April 22, Toy Caldwell�s brother, Tommy, bass player and founding member of The Marshall Tucker Band along with Toy - and also for all intents and purposes the band leader � struck an illegally parked car in the band�s hometown of Spartanburg, SC and as a result, the Toyota Land Cruiser he was driving rolled onto its side.

From what I can remember hearing at the time, his Land Cruiser - a Jeep-styled vehicle - did indeed have a roll bar, but it wasn�t enough to allow for the give of the seatbelt when it rolled, and Tommy suffered a major head injury.

The outlook wasn�t good, but everyone was praying for a miracle, Tommy was a true road brother to Dad and to the other Southern rock bands who often toured together.

Tommy was just an overall great guy, and beloved by his fellow road dogs.

One night when the CDB was starting out and opening shows for the Tucker boys, Tommy came into the dressing room and asked Dad why they were staying at different hotels than Tucker was. Dad honestly told him that they just didn�t have the money, so they were staying in less expensive hotels.

The truth was that Marshall Tucker�s success came quicker than the CDB�s, and Dad and his organization had to pinch their pennies.

Tommy then pulled a roll of cash out of his boot � Tommy also was also road accountant to my understanding. I believe it was somewhere around a thousand dollars. He handed it to Dad and said, "We want you staying in the same hotels we are," and that it was a loan, pay it back when you can, but if you can�t, that�s okay.

It goes without saying,�Dad did pay it back.

It was that kind of camaraderie among the Southern rock road dogs that was incredibly special. They lifted each other up when they needed it.

That was Tommy in a nutshell, but now he was in bad shape. Despite the prayers, everyone pretty much knew there wasn�t much hope, and on April 28, 1980, - my fifteenth birthday � Tommy passed away at the age of 30.

Needless to say, our plans for Universal were scrapped, and I understood completely. It was disappointing, but Dad�s dear friend had just passed away, so there was no choice. Instead of Universal, we went to get me a sports coat for me to wear at Tommy�s funeral, and soon we were catching a plane for Spartanburg.

The loss was compounded by the death of Toy and Tommy�s younger brother, Tim, who died in a car wreck a month before Tommy and it hit Toy and his parents extremely hard.

Since Tommy had not been expected to survive, arrangements were already in place pending his actual passing, so his funeral was scheduled for the following day, April 29th. We flew to Spartanburg on the 28th, attended his funeral on the 29th, and then immediately hopped back on a flight to LA to finish other obligations that were on the books, namely shooting a TV appearance on a Cheryl Ladd TV special and a live performance on the 15th Annual ACM Awards on May 1.

That was an amazing day, in addition to meeting Louise Mandrell, Susan Anton and several of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the CDB won Touring Band of the Year, and introduced a song that nobody was prepared for, including Dad�s record label. �In America,� which had only been recorded days before Tommy�s death brought down the house and left radio stations screaming for the finished track.

As I�ve said before, in 2024, they could have mixed it and dropped it to the public in just a couple of days, but in the days when mixing, mastering and then pressing 45 RPM singles took time, but in a theater in Knott�s Berry Farm which consisted not only of country music fans, but also music executives and other artists and TV/movie stars, the standing ovation went on for what seemed like forever.

It was a song that helped reignite the passion and patriotism of a country that had been going through some hard times.

It was a proud moment to see how this cross-section of people reacted to Dad�s song, and if recording and distribution technology had been faster, there is no doubt in my mind that this song would have hit #1, but instead, it topped out at #10 due to the delay, although some enterprising young radio personalities � including a certain Nashville top 40 jock formerly known as Captain Sunshine � somehow got their hands on the live performance from the ACM Awards and gave it a few spins in the meantime.

The song still holds up today:

�And 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�

In fact, it might be time for someone to revisit this song, the times are remarkably similar.

The birthday and the detour to Spartanburg were obviously a downer, but other than that, the overall trip was a positive experience.

I did finally make it to Universal Studios Hollywood a few years later and finally had that blast I had looked forward to back in 1980.

Better late than never.

Rest in peace, Tommy Caldwell.
1949-1980

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22
�

- Charlie Daniels�Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

Feel free to comment on�soapboxes, but please refrain from profanity and anonymous�posts are not allowed, we need a name�and you MUST provide a valid email address. If you provide an email�address,�but leave the name as "Anonymous" we will pick a name for you based on your email address. No one other than website administrators will see your email address, not other posters. If you post without a valid email address, your comment (whether positive or negative) will be deleted.�� TeamCDB

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Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

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Goodbye, Ramblin’ Man - Soapbox Jr.

�When it�s time for leavin�, I hope you�ll understand that I was born a Ramblin� Man� - Dickey Betts 1973

"People down in Georgia come from near and far to hear Richard Betts pickin� on that red guitar� � Charlie Daniels 1974

Shortly after Dad�s funeral in July of 2020, I took to my computer to write a series of Soapbox Jr.�s � as to differentiate from Dad�s original opinion pieces - to write down the events of that week in order to chronicle everything that happened from the morning of July 6 to his funeral on July 10.

After I finished that Soapbox Jr. series, I kept on writing pretty regularly, and one of those pieces, �A Dying Breed� was inspired by seeing an old friend, Doug Gray from The Marshall Tucker Band, at Dad�s funeral, and the realization that now with Dad having gone home, there were just a few of those original Southern rock road dogs still with us.

Since 2020, we�ve lost ZZ Top�s Dusty Hill, Lynyrd Skynyrd�s Gary Rossington and as of April 18, 2024, one more joins the heavenly band, Forrest Richard �Dickey� Betts, one of the founders of not only The Allman Brothers Band, but one of the true founders of the Southern rock sound.

Dad should really be the one writing something about Dickey�s passing, but he�s busy reuniting with an old friend at the moment, so I will try my best in his absence, and with my limited familiarity of Dickey.

Without The Allman Brothers Band, there most likely would not have been a Southern rock movement in the early 1970s, or at the very least, it would have looked � and sounded - completely different.

As I have said in a project that I�m working on, Dad always said that Southern rock music is a collage of styles rather than a specific style of music, with bands like Marshall Tucker having a heavy country music influence and Skynyrd being a powerhouse rock band.

Dad noted that The Allman Brothers were essentially a killer blues band that added harmonized twin lead rock guitar parts from both Dickey and Duane Allman, an innovation that led to a style that most of the prominent Southern rock bands would emulate and incorporate into their own sounds. Dickey and Duane�s guitars blended together with beautifully unmatched precision.�

Songs like �Whipping Post,� �Blue Sky� and �Ramblin� Man� all showcased this trailblazing sound, but where the duo�s guitar harmonies really shined were on instrumentals like �Jessica� and the unforgettable �In Memory of Elizabeth Reed� which ooze with unparalleled precision and flair, it�s almost as if their minds and instruments were one.

"Before - and even after - Duane passed away in 1971, the band's style was cemented, and songs like �Whipping Post,� �Blue Sky� and �Ramblin� Man� all showcased this trailblazing sound, but where the dual guitar harmonies really shined were on instrumentals like �Jessica� and the unforgettable �In Memory of Elizabeth Reed� which ooze with unparalleled precision and flair, it�s almost as if their minds and instruments were one." - CD Jr.

They were the gold standard.

Their influence showed up in pretty much every band that followed, for example, Dad often used twin lead guitars and even had two drummers from 1974 up to 1983. Some of the early CDB stuff is heavily influenced by the Allmans, songs like �Whiskey,� �Birmingham Blues� and �No Place to Go� all have the Allmans musical DNA at their core.

But Dad wasn�t just influenced by the Allmans and Dickey, nor were they just musical contemporaries, they were friends and road brothers.

When Dad wanted to do two live tracks on the CDB�s 1974 album �Fire on the Mountain,� they booked a show at Nashville�s War Memorial Auditorium which they called the Volunteer Jam. Dad had invited Toy Caldwell, Jerry Eubanks and Paul Riddle from The Marshall Tucker Band and Dickey to come and Jam after the CDB finished playing their set, not only did Dickey come to jam at the Jam, he also played the Dobro solo on �Long Haired Country Boy� from �Fire on the Mountain.�

Dickey and/or the Allmans made multiple appearances at the Volunteer Jams over the years, including memorable sets at Jam VI and Jam XII.

Dickey was in Nashville to help induct Dad into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2009. Dickey was feeling no pain that night, the two old friends and road brothers tore up the Allman�s classic �Southbound� with the CDB at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in downtown Nashville. I think the venue�s massive pipe organ is still shaking 15 years later.

They even wore the same color shirt, a light blue making Dickey look like Dad�s own �Mini-me� on stage.

The last time I remember seeing Dickey was in 2014.

Gibson was releasing a very special guitar called the Southern Rock Tribute Les Paul, which was inspired by the 1959 Les Paul red sunburst which so many Southern rock bands played, Gary Rossington, Dad and Dickey included.�

The guitars were made with the same care and precision that the originals had, and the sound and feel was reminiscent of those older models, with the only major difference in the paint job. Under the pickup is an airbrushed red heart where the originals just had the yellow/orange color that would fade to red on the edges.

Dad loved this throwback guitar and had several of them.

There was a panel discussion and showcase at Nashville�s 12^th�& Porter nightclub that Gary and Rickey Medlocke from Skynyrd, Dad and Dickey attended along with non-guitar player, Jimmy Hall from Wet Willie who all performed that evening and signed the initial batch of the commemorative guitars.

There was a lot of discussion about the old days and how the original �59 red sunburst helped define the genre.

I�m sure Dad and Dickey saw each other off and on after that, and Dickey was doing his own band after he left the Allmans for the last time, but sadly, I don�t know enough about those visits.

All I know is that we are getting close to losing all of our Southern rock founders and innovators.�

Thankfully we have bands like Blackberry Smoke, and the progeny of two Allman Brothers founders, Duane Betts and Devon Allman who are touring as The Allman Betts Band, and a few others who are helping to keep the flame alive.

There are a couple of other projects that we are in the process of developing that will help keep that flame going for as long as possible, and in some pretty surprising ways.

I�m going to end this with a line from one of my favorite songs, that you�ve never heard � although I hope to change that very soon � that MTB founder George McCorkle and co-writer D. Scott Miller wrote when Toy Caldwell passed away in 1993:

�There�s another Free Bird in the Southern sky

Can�t You See he�s Searchin� For a Rainbow

The Sky is Cryin� Can�t you hear them guitars moan

�Cause another Midnight Rider made the journey home�

And now the Ramblin� Man has made the journey home.

Prayers to Dickey�s wife Donna, and to Duane, Dickey�s friends and his many many fans,�

Rest in peace, Richard Betts.

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

- Charlie Daniels�Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

Super Memories With Dad - Soapbox Jr.

Unless you�ve been living under a rock somewhere, you�re most likely aware that the Kansas City Chiefs are taking on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII that�s 58 for those who have trouble with Roman numerals. I always know what the number is without looking because every year, I�m always the same age as the Super Bowl.

I�ve been blessed to make it to two of them, so far. The most recent one was in 2005 for number 39 - XXXIX - when Dad and Gretchen Wilson performed in the pregame show.

"Bridges" was the theme because the City of Jacksonville has a lot of bridges, and the NFL used that as a metaphor for bridging age gaps in their pregame show performers. Like, Black Eyed Peas performed and then had their musical heroes Earth Wind & Fire perform along with them.

And Gretchen Wilson was invited to perform as well, and her career was hot as a firecracker at the time and she performed her hit, �Here For the Party,� and she invited one of her heroes, dad who performed part of The Devil Went Down to Georgia in a combined band of both Gretchen�s the CDB. She did sing that she knew all the words to every Charlie Daniels song, after all.

I was on the field for the performance, and it was an amazing atmosphere. The crowd was rocking, pyrotechnics going off� It was a great feeling and I was very proud that I got to be there on the field in what was a very high-profile appearance for dad and the band. As BEP and EWF were closing�out the pregame show, dad and Gretchen joined them on stage. One of the Peas grabbed dad�s hat and put it on, but dad was good-natured about it.

But as much as I enjoyed that, it wasn�t what makes this one of my favorite memories.

No, it was after the performance, and we were headed through the tunnels to go to the suite that they had for our people to watch the game in.

As we were walking, security held us back and said that �The Presidents� were coming through. Well, at the time, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were something of a presidential �Odd Couple� who had been making appearances together. Clinton was working the back of the tunnel where we were shaking hands, and President Bush was working the front, and we spoke to him first, and I asked if I could get a picture of the three of us together.

We did, and it�s just absolutely hilarious� look behind us. It looks like Bill just jumped in and photobombed us� �Like Hey! Y�all don�t forget about me!� I�m sure he just happened to turn around at the exact time we were taking the picture, but it�s quite comical.

But we lingered there a few more minutes, and then security started escorting us to the suite again. I was walking close to Gretchen and I heard her say� �Euuuughhhh!�

I said "What�s wrong?" and she said �Bill Clinton wouldn�t let go of my hand��

And I said the first thing that popped into my mind which was, �and you don�t know where that hand has been��

And Gretchen said �I KNOW!�

A truly memorable time, but it was less about the game than it was about the festivities because our team wasn�t playing, the game was between the Patriots and the Eagles.

But there was a game in January 2000 in Atlanta�and that was all about football for us, and Dad and I were there to watch Super Bowl XXXIV as our team, the Tennessee Titans took on the St. Louis Rams in a game for the ages.

When I was growing up, Dad and I were Cowboys fans � later reformed. Dad never could get over the undignified way Jerry Jones let Tom Landry � the only coach the franchise had known since its inception go. The argument could be made that it was time for a change, but the man was an institution and he felt it should have been handled differently.

So, we didn�t really have a favorite team for a while, but our second favorite team growing up had been the Houston Oilers, largely to the �Tyler Rose� the mighty locomotive known as Earl Campbell.

I remember the Mike Renfro �non-catch� in the playoff game with the Steelers that ended up being one of the driving forces behind the implementation of a replay system, I remember �Luv Ya Blue!� and I remember Coach Bum Phillips threatening to kick the door down next year (paraphrasing.)

Living in Knoxville at the time, early 1990s, I was more into college ball and the Vols as opposed to the NFL, but I remember some disappointing moments as a semi-Oilers fan, the playoff loss to the Bills that the Oilers blew the biggest lead ever in a game � at the time � and the time that defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan punched offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.

I casually watched football through much of the 90s, and even when the Oilers moved to Tennessee, I didn�t pay that much attention. After all, in 1997, they were playing in Memphis, and then they played at Vanderbilt for the 1998 season, three straight 8-8 seasons, but Dad and I did make it to the last game at Vanderbilt. The Oilers were taking on the Minnesota Vikings, and if I remember correctly, if they had won, they would have gotten in the post season as a Wild Card, but they did not.

However, they did hand out a nice souvenir, a rally cloth with a new logo and a new name, Tennessee Titans.

And that last loss at Vanderbilt was the turning of the page for the franchise.

In 1999, there was a new stadium to go along with the new name and uniforms, and so many of the players became legends in Nashville, Eddie George, Steve �Air� McNair, Bruce Matthews, Jevon Kearse, Brad Hopkins, Kevin Dyson, Blaine Bishop and Frank Wycheck, just to name a few.

Despite Dad�s busy schedule, he and I did attend several games that season, which was a great feeling, especially since they were undefeated at home.

The season had its ups and downs, but for the first time in several years, the franchise made it back to the post season.

First up, the team that embarrassed the Oilers in the playoffs just a few years before, the Buffalo Bills.

A slugfest of a game and a late field goal put the Bills in front with only :16 left on the clock. Then one of the most analyzed and improbable trick plays in the history of the league carried the team to victory, the infamous Music City Miracle. It was clearly � even though it was ever so slightly � a backwards pass, it goes back about six inches from Wycheck�s hand to the line where Dyson catches it. The fact that Dyson has to step back is what I believe is the stumbling block for those who still think it was a forward pass, most of them in the area around Lake Erie.

The Titans then went to Indianapolis to take on Tennessee favorite son Peyton Manning, and it was another hard fought game, but the Titans were headed to Jacksonville, FL for the first AFC Championship game in twenty years.

I drove down to Jacksonville for the game, and it was one to remember. The Jaguars fans were pumped because no team had ever beaten another team three times in one season, with the last game being at their home field, the Titans had won in Jacksonville and in Nashville already during the regular season.

But the fans were excited, and confident, as was the team and the front office because�.

They released a Super Bowl song on the eve of the AFC Championship Game. Yep! Before the game had even been played, �Uh Oh! The Jaguars Super Bowl Song� had been leaked and as legend has it, in the last team meeting the night before the game, Coach Jeff Fisher played a videotape of the song for his team, and let it sink in.

To call the game a blow-out would not exactly be accurate, but Iit got more lopsided as the game went on, but both teams fought hard in the first half. In fact the Titans were down by 4 at halftime, but surged back for a final score of 33-14.�

The former team from Houston was playing in its first Super Bowl, against another relocated team, the St. Louis Rams.

A lot of Jaguars fans are still sore about a jab that Coach Fisher took at their team during one of the Super Bowl�s press conferences about his team having three home stadiums in three years, Fisher said that some have said they have had four home stadiums in three years, if you count Jacksonville.

Yes, it was a jab, but then again... after �Uh Oh!� it�s not unexpected.

Dad was in Colorado at the time, as he usually was in January, but we were heading to Atlanta. He came home, and Dean Tubb drove their bus down to Atlanta for the game with the Rams

It was an amazing atmosphere, all kinds of exhibits and attractions, and fans of all the teams were there, I distinctly remember a contingent of four young ladies who were obviously from Buffalo, and still hadn�t gotten over the Music City Miracle by each wearing a glitter shirt with a different word, �Lateral,� �Pass,� �My,� �A$$.��

The game was exciting and frustrating. The Titans defense kept the Rams out of the endzone and made them settle for field goals, however the Titans were having their own troubles, and had a missed field goal and a blocked one.�

Then Steve McNair and Eddie George put the team on their backs and tied the game up. It was unbelievable.

Then came disaster, the Titans were without their two starting safeties, Marcus Robertson who broke his foot in Jacksonville, and Blaine Bishop was carted off the field in an ambulance earlier in the game, that left the Titans secondary vulnerable, and the high-powered Rams took advantage of it with QB Kurt Warner throwing a 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce to make the score 21-17.

It looked bleak, but Steve McNair turned in one of the most unbelievable performances I had ever seen. He willed the team down the field, and gave them one chance with :10 left in the game, the play was designed to get into the endzone, a pass across the middle to Kevin Dyson, but linebacker Mike Jones stopped him at the one-yard line. At the angle Dad and I were at, it was hard to tell if he had gotten in or not, but he didn�t make it.

The confetti cannons started going off and the Rams began celebrating their victory. The team that traveled from Houston�to Memphis�to Vanderbilt and finally to their own shiny new stadium gave it a valiant effort, but it wasn�t enough. The St. Louis Rams were world champions.

I�m still proud of that Titans team. Dad and I never gave up until the last second, and neither did they. We both thought it was one of the best Super Bowls we had ever seen.

I�m sure it stung, but those guys could hold their heads up high.

I look forward to going to another Super Bowl, and I believe with all my heart that the Titans will go back someday, and finally take care of the unfinished business from January 30th of 2000.

I just wish Dad and I could go together to see what began back in 1999 finally come true.

Here�s to a great game!

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22
�

- Charlie Daniels�Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

F.U.T.K. Reborn - Soapbox Jr.

Hello CDB fans, this week has been rough. From dealing with a household full of Covid-positives while I�m trying to dodge the bug so I can take care of my family, to the tragic death of Toby Keith.

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We know he had been dealing with stomach cancer for a year and a half, but we still hoped he would somehow make a recovery. I believe I met him at the 2005 BMI Awards in Nashville.

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While he and Dad weren�t always in touch, I know that Dad respected Toby, and I would imagine the same was true for Toby regarding Dad.

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As sad as Toby�s passing has been, there�s something even more tragic afoot. A decades-old feud that had been seemingly put to rest has resurfaced, not by the originator of the feud, but by the fans.

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In May of 2002, Toby released �Courtesy of the Red White and Blue (The Angry American)� as a response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Keith�s father was a veteran and it was a very personal song for him and for many others. Natalie Maines, lead singer for the group formerly known as The Dixie Chicks criticized the song in August of 2002 in an interview in the Los Angeles Daily News saying, �I hate it, it makes country music sound ignorant��

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A few months later in a CMT interview, Keith criticized her take and said she wasn�t a songwriter, with occasional jabs going back and forth between the two for several months.

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Then in March of 2003, the feud reached stratospheric heights when Maines famously said on a London stage that they were ashamed that�President Bush is from Texas.

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The backlash was unprecedented, radio stations dropped their music, fans boycotted and they basically became invisible for several years, still performing, but not at the level they had been, but they still performed at the ACM Awards in May of 2023, and Natalie was sporting a shirt that said F.U.T.K., she playfully said that the acronym stood for "Friends United in Truth and Kindness," but it was obvious what the intent was, the last three letters represented �You Toby Keith� and the first one represented a word that starts with F, ends with UCK and isn�t Firetruck.

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A few months later, Toby basically said he was done with the feud, and a few years later, the Dixie Chicks won a Grammy for an album that contained a song that appeared to be an attempt to reignite the feud, �Not Ready to Make Nice.�

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I promise you there is a point to this, and I will get there shortly.

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I don�t believe that Dad ever met Ms. Maines, but he did have something to say about her comments, if only in private. If I remember correctly, he actually defended her right to her opinion, however he felt that by her making her statements on foreign soil, it was a bit cowardly. He felt if you feel that way, say it on your home turf.

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He did NOT � as many people have claimed � tell them to �Shut up and sing.� That was the title of a book by Laura Ingraham, and not a quote from Dad, but that does showcase some of the differences between Dad and Ms. Maines, Dad was outspoken on the stage about his love of country, his love of Jesus, and he wasn�t afraid to say things like �The lowest form of animal life is a child molester, and the only good terrorist is a dead terrorist.�

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Neither of those statements should be very controversial, but they are not political per se. Dad would tell you how he feels with no minced words on Twitter and on his website soapboxes, but he would never subject his audiences to a tirade against presidents he didn�t vote for, or by praising a president that he did vote for.

�

So, here�s where I was going with all of that, shortly after it was announced that Toby Keith had passed away, FUTK started trending on social media, and a quick search produced some really disgusting comments, praising the former Dixie Chicks and saying they must be having a fabulous day, things just got worse from there with the vitriol hitting new lows, and that�s saying a lot, because I've seen some extremely vile comments, I spent days blocking comments celebrating Dad�s passing on Twitter in 2020, and sadly, that is something I still have to do from time to time.

So, I can�t imagine hating someone so much that you would gleefully post about someone�s death.

�

That brings me to another issue today, February 7, is Garth Brooks' birthday. I debated posting happy birthday because I know he�s a polarizing figure due to his political beliefs, so I was prepared for some pushback, but it�s gotten pretty ugly. Lots of �Garth is a communist.� Garth is this� Garth is that� F. Garth! �and so forth� Not a whole lot better than the FUTK crowd.

�

But Dad and Garth were friends, and Garth did covers of �Drinkin� My Baby Goodbye� when he was starting out, and occasionally still does �The Devil Went Down to Georgia.�

�

Garth even supports the MTSU Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center so they could find common ground on certain issues.

�

Brad Paisley is also someone whose beliefs are probably as diametrically opposed from Dad's as they could possibly be, but Brad and Dad collaborated on an instrumental for Dad�s �Deuces� album, and Brad invited Dad to narrate the takedown of an abusive husband by his wife who had been taking self-defense classes in his 2013 song, �Karate.�

�

Here�s the long-awaited point, if Dad and Garth, and Dad and Brad can disagree on practically every issue out there, but remain friends, then we should be able to do the same.

�

There's more to be gained by discussion and communication than just "F you, you're wrong!" Just like what is going on with the Dixie Chicks fans right now who are celebrating Toby Keith's death, it�s absolutely disgusting and uncalled for.

�

We can and should be able to agree to disagree, and I absolutely disagree with Garth and Brad's political leanings, but both have been absolute gentlemen any time I was ever around them, and I understand how passionate and important some of the issues are, but I don�t think either of them are evil people.

�

Being wrong, even horribly wrong and misguided doesn't necessarily mean you are a bad person. It just means I believe that your worldview is mistaken, but that's the beauty of living in our great nation, you have the right to be wrong, even horribly wrong.

�

I understand how passionate many of us are about our beliefs, but we don't have to let it manifest as hatred. That doesn't help anything.

�

People do change, and sometimes those around them change so much that they have no choice but to go the other direction. Ronald Reagan famously said he didn't leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left him by moving so far to the left.

�

Dad had several employees that were staunch Democrats but they worked hard for him up until July 6, 2020, and did a great job for him because there was always mutual respect.

We�re not always going to agree, but we can do better than �F You! You�re wrong!�

�

Despite those resurrecting the F.U.T.K. mantra, we lost a great American patriot this week, no matter what the keyboard social justice warriors say, but maybe we can turn things around�

�

Let�s co-opt the phrase that Ms. Maines made famous with something better than� Fu� better than the original.

�

How about:

Fans United for Toby Keith

Forever Uniquely Toby Keith

�

Those are just a couple of ideas, feel free to add your own.

�

What do you think?

�

Let�s all make the day count!

�

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

�

God Bless America!

�

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

�

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

�

- Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

Still Keeping Dad’s Legacy Alive - Soapbox Jr.

�Keeping Charlie�s legacy alive.� That�s been the mantra here for over three and a half years, and nothing is ever going to change that.

�

Before July 6, 2020, I had written a few pieces for the CDB website and social media accounts, but most of them were about specific song or album anniversaries with a couple of political ones thrown in for good measure.

�

I never fancied myself as a writer. I didn�t ever really feel comfortable with creative writing until July 11, the day after we buried Dad. The best way I can describe it was an itch to tell everyone what happened with Dad, and then a switch inside my head flipped on.

�

Remember, this was in the thick of the pandemic, so a lot of people assumed � incorrectly � that Dad was taken out by the 21st Century�s Black Plague 2.0, COVID-19. So, I took it upon myself to chronicle the events of the week of Dad�s passing, visitation and funeral, maybe two or three installments, but it stretched out to four. Then I had an idea for another, and another and soon I was churning them out more or less weekly while I was trying to figure out how to keep a ship powered by an engine that was no longer around afloat.

�

Our friends at Media Research Center, a conservative-minded media watchdog group that regularly ran Dad�s soapboxes gladly ran the post-July 6, 2020 works that I submitted to them. Then after a couple of months, the main editor asked if I would like to try contributing some ideas that were more political/current affairs in nature, while they seemed to like what I was writing, their bread and butter is in politics, so I tried my hand at it.

�

For the most part, it went well, but I did get some criticism, mostly from folks who didn�t know that Dad had moved on from the �stoned in the mornin�� drunk in the afternoon� and were accusing me of using Dad�s name to push my own ideas which � according to them � had to be contrary to that of Dad in his �Long Haired Country Boy� days. After all, this is the man who � along with The Marshall Tucker Band � played fundraisers for Jimmy Carter, and both bands performed at the Carter�s Inaugural Ball.

�

But the joke was on them, Dad and I were on the same level when it came to current events and politics, both dyed in the wool conservatives. Back in the Jimmy Carter days, Dad looked at the man rather than the party, and back in the old days, Democrats were much more conservative when it came to a lot of issues. Ronald Reagan � another former Democrat � famously said that he didn�t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left him when it started lurching further and further to the left.

�

That being said, a couple of things blew up on the CDB Facebook page starting on Friday, February 2. Someone had the gall to say that Dad was a hypocrite for claiming to be a Christian, but wrote and recorded a song �paying homage to the devil.� I was thinking to myself, did this person actually ever listen to the song? It�s only been out 45 years this coming May, so I can see how he might not have had time to fully absorb the entire song.

�

So, I along with several fans tried to talk some sense into him, some with a stronger approach than I chose, I tried to point out that it was a fictional song in which the devil loses, and even a pastor on a Gospel radio station in 1979 built a message around the song, �You too can beat the devil!� Our pastor from World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, TN � Allen Jackson (no relation) even had Dad perform it at Easter celebrations which were formerly held at MTSU�s Murphy Center and in the sanctuary at WOC, so not everyone sees telling a fictional story where the devil loses is a ticket straight to the Lake of Fire.

�

I also encouraged him to pick up his Bible and read Matthew 7:1 �Do not judge, or you too will be judged.�

�

This gentleman also appears to be on hard times and had set up a GoFundMe account to help with his propane bill. I tried to take the high road and promote his fundraiser in order to show how Christians really are, even when you insult or condemn us.

�

Unfortunately, while there were several that got my point, we had a multitude of people refusing to help because of his attitude toward Dad.

�

I get it, but we�re supposed to hold ourselves to a higher standard than that, Love those who hate you and bless those who curse you � Luke 6:27-28 and that even sinners love those who love them, we � as Christians - are supposed to suck it up because there is no credit for loving people who love you. We have to go beyond that into the uncomfortable territory of loving those who don�t love us, and even sinners do good to those who do good to them� so what?

�

Paul takes it even further in Romans by quoting from Proverbs 25: �On the contrary: �If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.� � Romans 12:20 NIV

�

Shortly after that I posted a link to a soapbox I wrote the other day regarding the invasion of the scam bots on Facebook.

�

Most were positive, but this one caught my attention: �Forewarned Junior. Stay off the political soapbox. You ain�t your dad, nor do you enjoy the respect that we faithful Charlie Daniels fans accorded him. While I�m on a rant, I�m tendering up just a tiny bit of respect for you. Shameful riding your dad�s name and legacy for personal gain. Take fiddle and guitar lessons, then perhaps your credibility will increase a notch or two.�

�

Ouch.

�

Well, let�s start at the top, this soapbox was a letter to Mark Zuckerberg to do something about the multitude of scam bots on his platform which policing could take almost all of my time. Not exactly what I would have called political, unless he�s a big stockholder in Meta, but who knows?

�

I am well aware that I am not my Dad, and I don�t want to be my Dad, however, I do want to honor his legacy and glorify our heavenly Father in everything I do, I�m a flawed human being, but those are my main goals, so in that respect, I do try to be like Dad.�

�

If by riding Dad�s name for personal gain,�you mean busting my tail daily so that his name, music, legacy and legend live on long after he�s gone, trying to develop projects based on his works because these were things that he never got to see realized in his lifetime, to bring honor to Dad and glory to God, just as he would if he was still alive. Is that what you mean?

�

I tell you what, I�ll take guitar lessons and learn to play the fiddle, if you think that will increase my credibility, but what about yours? What makes you an expert to come in and criticize what I do?

�

If you learn to walk a mile in my shoes and see all the stress and headaches I have had to deal with since Dad left us, and never feeling like I had time to grieve because I had to figure out a way to keep his legacy going without him and how difficult that has actually been, then maybe you will develop a shred of credibility of your own.

�

Good day, and God bless you, Mr. Gibson and Mr. Gray.

�

What do you think?

�

Let�s all make the day count!

�

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

�

God Bless America!

�

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

�

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

�

- Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

An Open Letter To Mark Zuckerberg, or When Bots Rule The World! - Soapbox Jr.

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,

�

May I call you Mark, Zucky or Zuckster? I�ll just go with Mark for now.

�

Last week I wrote a Soapbox Jr. about the frustrations with Facebook in general, and the overwhelming number of scam bots we deal with on the CDB Facebook page, and many other artist and business pages, along with personal pages, and I echoed what many Facebook users have been thinking�

�

ENOUGH WITH THE BOTS!

�

Well, in turn, your scam bot collective coalition apparently said, �Hold my beer�� and turned up the infestation �up to 11� to quote the legendary Nigel Tufnel and it has made things even more frustrating to manage. It�s gotten so bad that even the bots don�t seem to know who is real and who is one of their imaginary brethren or sithren (although I�m not really sure that�s an actual word�).

�

I�m enclosing a couple of screenshots to help illustrate my point. First, a generous fella named �Frank� offered to give 5 people �6 grands� if someone would DM him �God did.� Well, �Milagros� commented on Frank�s post to tell him about the final winner of their Tiny RV Homes. The reply must have gotten the attention of Frank because he asked Milagros to inbox him. Scam bots trying to scam scam bots�

Mark, who would have ever thought that would be an actual sentence?

�

Oh, to be a bit, byte or kilobyte to see how that DM session played out� �Hi Frank dear� Oh you�re not interested in a Tiny RV�? Wait� Bob� is that you? How funny is that�? I gotta tell the guys in logistics, they�ll bust a gut over this! Tell Susan hey from me and Barb� That�s too funny!�

�

At least that�s how it went in my mind.

�

Furthermore, on a post wishing Ray Stevens happy birthday, a young woman allegedly named Mary asked a real fan (at least as far as we know) named Carl if she could ask him a question. I replied, �No, but can I interest you in the lucrative world of cryptocurrency�?� Sadly, she didn�t seem interested in Bitcoin. Maybe she�s just not into the whole Blockchain thing, or maybe she prefers XRP...

�

On the same Ray Stevens post, a real fan named Dean was deluged with requests from scantily clad young women who for some reason can�t figure out how to send a friend request. It was probably over a dozen different imaginary bimbos trying to snare ol� Dean in their webs of deception.

�

On a post about Volunteer Jam VIII, �Patrick� asked if he could talk to someone, I said �No.� but he replied anyway. Then a fan named Charles � Must be a great guy � made this comment �These scam artists have no shame at all, do they?� Patrick reacted with a crying face emoji. So� I was ready to block Patrick until I saw that reaction. I was intrigued by his unintentional honesty�

�

Just kidding. I know it was just the scam bot algorithms auto-reacting with what they think is appropriate without paying attention to the actual comment.

The fact that Meta doesn�t seem to give a rat�s patootie about the quality of their service anymore speaks volumes.

�

If I went to order something on Amazon and I knew up front that I had a 50/50 shot that my order wouldn�t be delivered, or it would instead be delivered to the king of Nigeria, or that the money I paid was going to some fictional bubble-chested bimbo who says she is impressed with how I shop, who would then drain my bank account after the transaction and that Jeff Bezos said, �Sorry, there�s really nothing we can do about it,� I�m going to find a new place to buy my goods.

�

So� I have to ask the question, dear ol� Mark� does Meta just not care that they are driving users away from their platforms? Instagram isn�t much better, but Mark if Meta doesn�t do something soon, your company is going to lose users, or you maybe you use us losers�

�

Back in the pre Meta-branded days I had heard it said that Facebook�s platform wasn�t the product they bought and sold, the Facebook users were the actual product by the way your company harvests the sensitive personal data it gets � willingly � from your users.

�

So, in a sense, your company does use us losers.

�

Your company has quite the stranglehold on social media platforms - Elon Musk�s X (The Platform Formerly Known as Prince - I mean Twitter) notwithstanding. And despite the tsunami-sized splash that China has made with TikTok, Facebook is still considered the gold standard. Well, maybe just tarnished brass nowadays�

�

Many have tried and failed to be the one to knock the big Meta bully off of its turf.

�

If Meta doesn�t realize how frustrating users are becoming with fake celebrity profiles, bogus cryptocurrency scams, scams selling love to lonely people, the tease of easy money from generous lottery winners, or Nigerian witch doctor prince or deceased country music singer whose kingdom and/or fortune can be recovered with your help, and a small bit of financial assistance for which they will be rewarded with one hundred times over what they put in.

�

So, Mr. Zuckerberg, even though it�s highly unlikely that you will ever see this, I�m going to say it anyway. If Meta doesn�t do something soon, someone is going to come up with an alternative social media platform or platforms that work better than yours and that manage to weed out a considerable number of scammers. When that finally happens, you and your shareholders will soon find your platforms in the company of the MySpaces of the world before you, in the Hebrew definition of the word �Meta.�

�

Dead.

�

What do you think?

�

Let�s all make the day count!

�

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

�

God Bless America!

�

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

�

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

�

- Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

Facebook Frustration - Soapbox Jr.

Okay, this is going to be a different Soapbox Jr. than you�re used to getting from me, but Dad would often tackle things aside from politics and current events.�

But this Soapbox Jr. is borne from extreme frustration.

The source of my current frustration?

Social media.

Like most things, social media has its good points and bad points.

Dad was an avid Twitter user before the service was re-branded as X, in fact, you might say he was a serial tweeter.

Twitter was often a cesspool, especially after Dad went home and X still has the capacity to be a cesspool, but it seems less septic since Elon Musk bought the company and rebranded it, but that�s not my current frustration.

We launched the CDB�s Facebook page in 2010 when it became obvious that things were trending away from MySpace and things took off quickly.

Facebook used to be a fantastic way to market, allowing us to reach more people even than Dad was on Twitter. You used to be able to launch a new product in the CDB website store on Facebook and get an organic reach that was off the chart.

Organic reach � for those not dependent on social media for marketing � is the amount of people (accounts) reached without having to boost (pay to promote) a particular post.

Now, organic reach has dwindled to where it�s more and more difficult to reach new accounts, or even those who follow your page.

The CDB page has well over two million followers and that is a valuable resource to have at one�s fingertips�

However�

In addition to the dwindling organic reach, a new blight has fallen upon the Book of Face, and absolute epidemic of fake accounts; spammers selling bootleg merchandise, love bandits who solicit followers by flattering them � both males and females - and trying to get a conversation going in the DMs (direct messages), Bitcoin brokers, witch doctors and the Illuminati.�

Yes, you read those last two correctly.

Even more disturbing is the abundance of fake celebrity impersonator accounts.

We have dealt with this to a degree for quite a while, there�s a poor woman named Phyllis out there who several years ago believed she was talking with Dad, and there was no convincing here otherwise. This imposter even put it in her mind that my Mom had cheated on Dad and that Willie Nelson was actually my real father. You couldn�t hear it, but I just let out an annoyed grunt.

We also had a woman show up at our business office gate saying she needed to see Dad, and that she had been talking with him, and loaned him some money because either �Mom� or an alleged manager had taken all of his money, but if this person would just loan him a few thousand dollars, he would be able to pay her back when he got access to his accounts again.

Again, *annoyed grunt*

But you would think that when Dad went home to be with the Lord, there might have been a steep decline in impersonator accounts.�

Not exactly.

The amount of fake Charlie Daniels accounts out there is astounding, and even creepier when they say that they can talk to Dad directly through his private chat page, which somehow links into the afterlife.

But being the type of person that I am, I hate to see people sucked in by scammers of any type, so I try to do my best to be vigilant when it comes to policing the CDB page and protecting Dad�s fans, but it is getting harder and harder to do so.

The scammers largely appear to fall into three categories, the Cryptocurrency brokers, the artist impersonators, who often pop up when we wish a celebrity happy birthday, the love scammers who appear as divorced or widowed �silver fox� male very often retired or active military, or the scantily clad young females who are extremely proud of their posteriors or their beach ball sized chests who are also �am good wman who is trustworthy and loyal.�

So, I�m going to say this once again, if anyone approaches you claiming to be management of an artist, or the artist themselves, just ignore them, or block them. The silver fox or the boobilicous bimbos are not impressed with your profile or your comments, or your smile, or anything else. They are love bandits, pure and simple, and it will not end well.

Facebook is largely to blame for allowing this to continue. I can look at the most recent followers to Dad�s page, and probably 90% of them are obviously scammers, but I could literally spend hours a day trying to police this page, and I will always do my best to shut these scammers down when I can, but the best thing I can do is to let you know that these people are devious and conniving, and warn y�all to not fall into their webs of deception.

I�ve got so many more things that I�m trying to accomplish, and will hopefully start rolling out to fans in the next few weeks, but it�s difficult when I�m constantly having to be Facebook cop.

Just be warned, people. If you go read this on the CDB Facebook page, keep checking the comments to see how many scammers reply to a soapbox warning against scammers. The entertainment value on that should be massive!

Get you popcorn ready!

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

- Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

Grand Ole Honor - Soapbox Rewind

*NOTE* In honor of the Sixteenth Anniversary of Charlie's Grand Ole Opry induction, here's a Soapbox Rewind from 2008, just before he was inducted, and he shares his feelings on his then-upcoming induction. - TeamCDB

On Friday, January 18th, I will catch a plane from Durango, Colorado, where I'm on vacation, en route to Nashville, Tennessee, which is the last fifteen hundred miles of a journey of several million which started one afternoon in Gulf, North Carolina, circa 1951 when I was visiting a friend, Russell Palmer, and he pulled out an old Stella guitar.

I don't know where he got that old guitar or how long he'd had it but he actually knew about two and a half chords on it and I immediately started pestering him to show them to me.

As a lifelong, dyed-in-the-wool music lover I had always had a desire to learn to play but had never been around anybody long enough who knew how to play for it to rub off on me. And here was my best friend actually playing a G chord, C chord and occasionally after much finger straining a D chord.

I certainly didn't realize it that day but that old Stella guitar with the rusty strings and a neck about the size of half a fence post was going to change my life.

I guess Russell and myself motivated each other because we set about learning to play with a passion and woe be to anybody who happened by who knew a chord we hadn't learned because we got really good at badgering people to teach us.

Well one thing led to another and in a year or so we had a little band that played just about any place somebody would put up with us, we even had a Saturday radio show on a small station in Sanford, NC.

One constant in our lives was listening to and loving the Grand Ole Opry. We even made a couple of trips to Nashville to see it in our later teenaged years.

The Opry was the penultimate goal for anybody who ever fancied themselves a country music performer and everybody who was anybody in the country music business was a part of it.

There was Hank Williams, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Ernest Tubb, Eddie Arnold, Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys, the list goes on and on.

In 1956 my dad changed jobs and we moved to Wilmington, NC and I had to say goodbye to Russell and the band we had formed. I took a daytime job and played with whoever would let me set in with them.

To make a long story extremely short I pursued my dream in music and by the goodness of God have been able to have a wonderful career, which has spanned almost fifty years.

I have been blessed with Gold, Platinum and Multiplatinum albums, I have appeared many times on network television, even in moving pictures. I have won multiple awards from The Country Music Association, The Academy of Country Music, The Gospel Music Association and even a Grammy. I have even played on the Grand Ole Opry many times. But I was always on the outside looking in. I was always a guest, never a member.

On Saturday night, January 19, 2008 at approximately 7:45 Central Standard Time my lifelong dream will become a reality. I will become a full-fledged member of the Opry.

It is an honor that I can't begin to articulate, there is no way I can express what it means to me. And to make it special, I will be joined on stage by Russell Palmer the man who taught me my first guitar chords all those years ago.

Ain't God good!!!!!!!!!!

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America

- Charlie Daniels

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

Let’s all Make 2024 Count: A Year of CDB Landmarks - Soapbox Jr.

Goodbye 2023, hello 2024!�

It�s a fresh start on another 365 days for us to seize and � as dad would say - make count, and if he was still here, I have no doubt he would still be making his days count.

He always did.�

We actually have one more day to make count since this is a Leap Year.

But since he�s not here to make the days count anymore, it�s up to us to try to live up to the high standard he set for himself and always encouraged others to do.�

But for me, it�s more personal.

Dad�s not here to make things count, so I feel like it�s up to me to not only make my days count, but also make Dad�s days continue to count, even in his absence, and that is my goal, my resolution for 2024.

If Dad was still with us, 2024 would be a year full of celebrations, because 1974, 1979 and 1989 were full of landmarks which will always deserve celebrating, and it just works out that so many of these anniversaries line up together considering that every 5 years since anniversaries that end in �0� and �5� are the ones that generally get the most attention.

In 2024, the CDB will be celebrating the 35^th�anniversary of the �Simple Man� album, the 45^th�anniversary of a little tune called �The Devil Went Down to Georgia� and the 50^th�anniversary of the landmark album, �Fire on the Mountain� and the 50^th�Anniversary of the legendary Volunteer Jam shows.�

There is one more album anniversary which is virtually unknown, but I�ll talk about that a bit later.

In 1974, Dad was determined to record a CDB album that would establish the band as a force to be reckoned with, and for the first time, he would try to find his own true voice, rather than trying to emulate established artists as he did when he was performing in nightclubs throughout the late 50s and the 60s.�

After releasing several albums where his vocal style was all over the place, he decided that he would stand in front of the microphone and whatever came out that was authentically Charlie Daniels, is what they would use. It turned out to be a good move, as the album gave the band the breakout success they were looking for, and three of the songs continued to be staples of the CDB set for close to five decades.

One aspect of the �Fire on the mountain� album was the inclusion of two live tracks, �Orange Blossom Special,� and a live performance of �No Place To Go,� a song from a�previous album, �Honey in the Rock.��

Since they wanted to include the live tracks they had to set up a show in order to get the performances on tape. Since the CDB�s success had been limited to this point, they booked War Memorial Auditorium, a 2,200 seat venue in downtown Nashville, because it was a hall they felt confident they could fill. Dad also invited some friends to join the band onstage and Jam after the album recording was completed, Dickey Betts from The Allman Brothers Band along with Toy Caldwell and Paul Riddle from The Marshall Tucker Band.

Because Tennessee�s nickname is The Volunteer State, the one-night-only show was christened, Volunteer Jam, and it was held on October 4, 1974, eight weeks later, �Fire on the Mountain� was released marking 2024 as the 50^th�anniversary of both the landmark album and the concert, which turned out to not be so one-night-only after all with twenty official Jams total, not to mention Jam tours and one-off Jams with TV specials and live broadcasts aplenty.�

Needless to say, 1974 was a pivotal year for Dad and the band, as was 1979, just five years later.

The band had for all intents and purposes finished recording what would become the �Million Mile Reflections� album, Dad and producer John Boylan, realized that they had not included a fiddle song in the material they had recorded. So they took a break from recording and moved into a rehearsal studio to write a fiddle tune for the upcoming album.

They say necessity is the mother of invention, so with a little inspiration from a poem Dad read in school, contributions from all the band members and a line that popped into his head, �The Devil Went Down to Georgia,� a song took shape and what began as an afterthought became the band�s signature song 45 years ago. In fact, it was recorded in December of 1978, so the 45^th�anniversary of the creation of the song has already occurred, but the song was released May 21, 1979, and with everything that song brought to Dad, the band and our family, the anniversary of the little song that almost wasn�t that paid huge dividends is definitely worth celebrating.�

Ten years later, after some career ups and downs, the CDB hit it big again with the song �Simple Man,� from the album of the same name, no, it�s not the Skynyrd song, this was originally written as a movie pitch for a Patrick Swayze movie called �Next of Kin.� The music directors passed on the song, so he reworked it into a popular if controversial CDB song. It got lots of attention, mostly good, but it also had its detractors. Unfortunately, some of them were in radio and held the album hostage, meaning, it never got into the top ten because certain powerful stations refused to play it at the height of its popularity.

35 years later, the song still hits the nerve of controversy with certain social justice warriors trying to twist Dad�s words to imply he�s saying things he didn�t.

The song is about crime - and violent crime in particular � being out of control and not pointing the finger at any race. But this was the CDB�s last major label success, so here�s to the 35^th�anniversary of a outspoken CDB classic.

Oh yeah, I promised to tell you the story of the other milestone in 2024. That would be the 40^th�anniversary of an album that was never released, �Honky Tonk Ave.�

�Honky Tonk Ave� was intended to be the follow up to 1982�s �Windows� album, and the first album released through Nashville�s CBS/Epic Records offices, but ultimately Nashville�s CBS label head, Rick Blackburn and other executives didn�t like what they had presented to them.

It�s really a shame because it is a very unique CDB project, and one that I�m still determined to see released one day.�

Sadly, it doesn�t look like we�ll have a �Honky Tonk Ave� album in time for the 40^th�anniversary of the album�s non-release, we�re still trying to locate the masters in Sony�s vaults � Sony now owns the CBS/Epic/Columbia Records catalog � and so far, we haven�t been able to get a list of what is in the Sony vaults, but I still intend to find a way to get this outstanding album out to the fans before I leave this world.�

I�m stubborn like that.�

I even regularly tweet and post a hashtag urging Sony to finally release the album.

So there you have it, those are the major CDB anniversaries we are celebrating in 2024, but that�s not all there is to celebrate.

I�ve mentioned some projects that we�ve been working on for a close to a year, but I�ve been very cryptic about what I�ve shared.

If things go the way they look like they are, I may be able to at least announce one of these projects either later this month, or in February.

I can�t wait to finally be able to tell everyone about this. It�s gonna be something special, and hopefully just the first of many CDB-related projects to come, and there are several in the works.

Stay tuned!

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day (and all of 2024) count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

- Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

The Charlie Daniels Christmas Tradition 2023 - A Carolina Christmas Carol

Every year, we almost always make this the last post of the year and won�t post again until after New Year�s Day, barring anything that pops up unexpectedly that needs to be talked about.

This tradition goes back to 1984 when Dad first wrote this story and read it to us on Christmas Eve in the den at their house at Twin Pines. The book containing the story was released the following year, and he read each and every year through Christmas 2019.

Once Dad started writing his soapboxes for the website in the early 2000s, they started posting this to mark the year�s end which allowed Dad to work on his autobiography, �Never Look at the Empty Seats,� for many years during his off months of late December to middle of February.

So please enjoy this tradition and this heartwarming story of Santa Claus, but also the true meaning of Christmas.

Merry Christmas from all of us at the CDB and Twin Pines Ranch!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

CD, Jr. & the Daniels Family

�

A CAROLINA CHRISTMAS CAROL

By Charlie Daniels

I might as well go ahead and tell you right up front: I believe in Santa Claus.

Now, you can believe or not believe, but I'm here to tell you for a fact that there is a Santa Claus, and he does bring toys and stuff like that on Christmas Eve night.

I know, I know. It sounds like I've had too much eggnog, don't it?

All I ask is that you wait till I get through telling my story before you make up your mind.

When I was a kid, Christmas time had a magic to it that no other season of the year had. There was just something in the air, something that you couldn't put your finger on, but it was there, and it affected everybody.

It seemed like everybody smiled and laughed more at that time of year, even the people who�didn't hardly smile�and laugh the rest of the year. "You reckon it's gonna snow? I sure do wish it'd snow this year. Do you reckon it's gonna?" Heck no, it won't gonna snow. As far as I know, it ain't never snowed in Wilmington, North Carolina, at Christmas time in the whole history of man. It seemed like everybody in the world had snow at Christmas except us.

In the funny papers, Nancy and Sluggo and Little Orphan Annie had snow to frolic around in at Christmas time. The Christmas cards had snow. Bing Crosby even had snow to sing about.

But not one flake fell on Wilmington, North Carolina. But that didn't dampen our spirits one little bit.

Our family celebrated Christmas to the hilt. We were a big, close-knit family, and we'd gather up at Grandma's house every year. My grandparents lived on a farm in Bladen County, about fifty miles from Wilmington, and I just couldn't wait to get up there. They lived in a great big old farmhouse, and every Christmas they'd fill it up with their children and grandchildren. We'd always stay from the night of the twenty-third through the morning of the twenty-sixth. There'd be Uncle Clyde and Aunt Martha, Uncle Lacy and Aunt Selma, Uncle Leroy and Aunt Mollie, Uncle Stewart and Aunt Opal, and my mama and daddy,

Ernest and Nadine. I won't even go into how many children were there, but take my word for it, there were a bunch.

There'd be people sleeping all over that big old house. We kids would sleep on pallets on the floor, and we'd giggle and play till some of the grown-ups would come and make us be quiet. All the usual ground rules about eating were off for those days at Grandma's house. You could eat as much pie and cake and candy as you could hold, and your mama wouldn't say a word to you. My grandma would cook from sunup to sundown and love every minute of it. She'd have cakes, pies candy, fruit�and�nuts setting out all the time, and on top of that, she'd cook three big meals a day. I mean, we eat like pigs.

Christmas was also the only time that my Granddaddy would take a drink. It was a Southern custom of the time not to drink in front of small children, so Granddaddy kept his drinking whiskey�hid�in the barn. When he'd want to go out there and get him a snort, he'd say that he had to go see if the mare had had her foal yet. It was a good, good time. A little old-fashioned by some peoples standards, but it suited us just fine.

If I'm not mistaken, it was the year I was five years old that my cousin Buford told me that there wasn't any Santa Claus. Buford was about nine at the time. He always was a mean-natured cuss.

Still is.

Well, I just refused to believe him. I said, "You're telling a great big fib, Buford Ray, 'cause Santa Claus comes to see me every Christmas, right here at Grandma and Granddaddy's house."

"That ain't Santa Claus. That's your mama and daddy."

One thing led to another and I got so upset about the prospect of no Santa Claus that I went running into the house crying.

"Grandma, Grandma! Buford says there ain't no Santa Claus! There is a Santa Claus, ain't they, Grandma?"

"Of course there is, Curtis. Buford was just joking with you."

Aunt Selma heard me talking to Grandma and walked to the door. "Buford Ray, get yourself in this house right this minute!"

When he came in, Aunt Selma grabbed him by the ear, led him into the front room and swatted him.

Granddaddy was also a big defender of Santa Claus. He would talk about Santa Claus like he was a personal friend of his. And the more he went to check on the mare, the more he talked about Santa Claus, or "Sandy Claws," as he called him.

"Yes, children, old Sandy Claws will be hitching up them�reindeers�and heading on down�this a-way�before long. Wonder what he's gonna bring this year?"

He'd have us so excited by the time we went to bed that I reckon if visions of sugarplums ever danced in anybody's heads, it was ours.

Christmas Eve night, after we had eaten about as much supper as we could hold, we'd go in the front room. There'd always be a big log fire crackling in the fireplace, and Granddaddy would always say the same thing.

"Children, do�y'all�know why we have Christmas every year?"

"Cause that's when the Baby Jesus was born."

"That's right. We're celebrating the Lord's birthday. Do y'all know where He was born at?"

"In Bethlehem," we would all chime in.

"That's right, He was born in a stable in Bethlehem almost two thousand years ago."

Then Granddaddy would put on his spectacles and read Saint Luke's version of the Christmas story. Then, after we'd had family prayer, Granddaddy would always get a twinkle in his eye. "I reckon I'd better step out to the barn and see if that old mare has had her baby yet."

There was always a chorus of, "Can I go with you, Granddaddy?"

"Y'all had better stay in here by the fire. It's mighty cold outside. I'll be right back."

When Granddaddy came back in the house, he'd always say, "I was on my way back from the barn while ago, and I heard something that sounded like bells a-tinkling, way back off yonder in the woods. I just can't figure why bells would be ringing back in the woods this time of night."

"It's Santa Claus! It's Santa Claus!"

"Well, now, I never thought of that. I wonder if it was old Sandy Claws. You children better get to bed. You know he won't come to see you as long as you're awake."

Then it was time to say good night. All the grandchildren would go around hugging all the grown-ups. "Good night Grandma, good night Granddaddy, good night Uncle Clyde, good night Aunt Mollie," and so forth.

We would always try to stay awake, lying on our pallets until Santa Claus got there, but we always lost the battle. It sounded like the Third World War at Grandma's house on Christmas morning. There�was�cap pistols going off and baby dolls crying, and all the children hollering at the top of their lungs.

By the time the next school year started, I was six years old and in the first grade. I kept thinking about what Buford had said. I didn't want to believe it, but it kept slipping into the back door of my mind.

At school, Buford was three grades ahead of me, but I'd still see him sometimes. Every time he'd see me that whole year, he'd make it a point to rub it in about Santa Claus.

He'd do something like get me around a bunch of his older buddies and say, "Hey, you fellers, Curtis still believes in Santa Claus." And they'd all laugh and point.

Away from any adult persuasion, I guess Buford finally wore me out. I returned to Grandma's house the next year not believing that there was a Santa Claus. Christmas lost a little of its mystique. Oh, I still enjoyed it. I even pretended that I believed in "Sandy Claws" for Granddaddy's benefit, but it wasn't the same.

Well, as you know, time marches on, children grow up and leave home, including me.

I was living in Denver, Colorado, married, with a child, and I hadn't been home for Christmas since our little daughter had been born. Dawn was three that year, and this would be the first time that she really knew about Santa Claus, and she was some kind of excited.

We had the best time shopping for her, buying all the little toys that she wanted.

Daddy called me about three weeks before Christmas and said, "Son, you know that your grandparents are getting old. They've requested that all the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren come home the way we used to. Can you make it, son?"

"We'll be there, Daddy."

I couldn't think of a better place in the whole world for little Dawn to spend her first real Christmas, so we packed up and headed for North Carolina.

Grandma was eighty-two years old, but she still cooked all day long, and she still enjoyed every minute of it.

Granddaddy was eighty-four, but he still had a twinkle in his eye and a mare in the barn.

The old house was fuller than ever, with a whole new generation of children in it. Even Buford. He had married, but he didn't have any children. He didn't want any. One of my cousins said he figured Buford was too stingy to have children.

Buford was still the same, except that he had changed from a boy with a mean nature to a full-grown man with a cynical nature and a know-it-all attitude.

Just before we went into the front room for family prayer and the reading of the Christmas story, I overheard him say to somebody, "I don't know why Granddaddy keeps filling the children's heads full of that Santa Claus nonsense. I think it's ridiculous. If I had children, I wouldn't let him tell them all that junk."

I looked hard at Buford. I had never liked him, and I liked him even less now.

Our little daughter was so excited when Granddaddy started talking about "Sandy Claws" that she jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

When I took her up to bed, there was pure excitement in those big brown eyes. "Santa Claus is coming, Daddy! Santa Claus is coming, Daddy!"

I got a warm feeling all over, and I sure was glad to be back at Grandma's house at Christmas time.

After all the children had gone to sleep, the grown-ups started going out to their cars to get the toys they had brought for Santa Claus to leave under the Christmas tree.

I decided to wait until everybody else had finished before I put Dawn's presents out. This was a special time for me and I wanted to enjoy it.

After everybody had gone up to bed, I went to the car to get Dawn's toys. To my shock, I couldn't find them. I ran back into the house to my wife. "Sylvia, where did you pack Dawn's Christmas presents?"

"I thought you packed them."

I was close to panic, but I didn't want Sylvia to know it. I said, "Oh well, you just go on to bed, honey, and I'll look again. I probably just overlooked them." I kissed my wife goodnight and went back downstairs.

I knew I hadn't overlooked them. We had somehow�forgot�to pack them, and they were two thousand miles away in Denver, Colorado.

I was a miserable man. I just didn't feel like I could face little Dawn the next morning. She'd be so disappointed. All the other children would have the toys that Santa had brought them, and my beloved little daughter wouldn't have anything.

How could I have been so dumb? Here it was, twelve o'clock Christmas Eve night, all the stores closed, everybody in bed, and me without a single present for little Dawn. I was heartbroken.

I went into the front room and sat by the dying fire, dejected and hopeless.

I don't know how long I sat there staring at the embers, but sometime�later on�I heard a rustle behind me and somebody said, "You got a match, son?"

I turned around and almost fell on the floor.

Standing not ten feet from me was a short, fat little man in a red suit, with a long white beard and a pipe sticking out of his mouth.

I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. He looked at me and chuckled.

"Have you got a match, son? I ran out and I want to get this pipe going."

When I finally got my voice back, all I could say was, "Who are you?"

"Well, people call me by different names in different parts of the world, but around here they call me Santa Claus."

"No, I mean who are you really?"

I just told you, son. How about that match?"

I stumbled to the mantelpiece, got a kitchen match and gave it to him.

"Much obliged." He stood there lighting his pipe, with me looking at him like he was a ghost or something.

"How did you get in here?"

"Oh, I've got my ways."

"I thought you were supposed to slide down the chimney."

"That's a common misconception. Would you slide down a chimney with a fire at the bottom?"

"Well, no. I mean, no, sir."

"Well, neither would I."

"How did you get here?"

"I've got a sturdy sleigh and the finest team of reindeer a man could have."

"But we ain't got snow."

Santa Claus laughed so hard that his considerable belly shook. "I don't need snow. Half the places I go in the world don't have snow. Besides, I like to get out of the snow once in a while. We have it year-round at the North Pole, you know."

"You mean you really live at the North Pole?"

"Of course, I've always lived at the North Pole. Don't you know anything about Santa Claus, son?"

"Well, yeah, but I thought it was all a big put-on for the children."

"That's the trouble with you grown-ups. You think that everything you can't see is a put-on. It's a shame grown people can't be more like children. They don't have any trouble believing in me."

"You mean you've really got a sleigh, with reindeer named Donner and Blitzen and stuff like that?"

"That's right, son. There's Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen and Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. Of course, there's no Rudolph with the red nose. I don't know who came up with that one. Rudolph really is a put-on."

"But what are you doing here? Why did you come?"

"Because there's a little girl in this house who believes in me very much. Now, she'd be mighty disappointed to wake up Christmas morning and have nothing under the tree."

"You mean you a came all the way here just because one little girl believes in you?"

"That's right, son. There's magic in believing. Besides, she's not the only one in this house who believes in me."

"Who else?"

"Why, your grandfather, of course."

"You mean Granddaddy wasn't putting us on all those years? He really believed in you?"

"Of course he believed in me."

"Well, why do you do this?"

"It's my way of celebrating the most important birthday in the history of man. Our Lord has given us so much. How can we do less?"

Santa Claus consulted a piece of paper he pulled out of his pocket and started taking a doll and other toys out of a big bag he had brought with him.

"Well, I've got to go, son. I've got a lot of stops to make before sunup. It's been really nice talking to you. Thanks for the match."

"Can I help you with your bag, Santa Claus?"

"No, that's all right, son. I'm used to carrying it."

I walked outside with him. "Where's your sleigh, Santa Claus?"

"It's parked right over there in the edge of the woods. You can come over and see it if you like."

I started walking over to his sleigh with him, but then I had a thought.

"I'm gonna have to miss seeing your sleigh and reindeer. Thank you so very much. You saved my life. God bless you, Santa Claus. I'll see you next year."

"God bless you, too, son and a Merry Christmas to you and yours."

Santa Claus started across the yard toward his sleigh, and I went running back in the house like a wild man. I raced up the stairs.

"Buford, Buford, get up!"

"What's the matter, is the house on fire?"

"No, but hurry. Come out on the upstairs porch."

Buford grumbled as he got up and followed me out on the upstairs porch.

"What the heck do you want? It's cold out here."

"Just hush up and listen."

Well, we listened by a full minute and nothing happened.

"You're crazy. I'm going back to bed."

"Buford, if you go back in the house, you're gonna miss something that I want you, above all people, to see."

We waited for a little while longer and I had almost given up when I heard it. It was just a little tinkle at first, hanging�on�the frosty air and getting louder by the second. It�was sleigh�bells!

Buford looked at me and said, "Curtis, is this some kind of joke or something?"

"No, Buford, I swear it ain't. Just wait a minute now!"

The sound of sleigh bells was getting louder and Buford's face was getting whiter. "You got somebody out there doing that, ain't you? Admit it! You got somebody out there, ain't you?"

I didn't say a word. All of a sudden it sounded like somebody had flushed a covey of quail. That sleigh came up out of the woods and headed west, hovering just above the treetops.

Buford was speechless. I thought he was gonna pass out. He held on to the banister and took deep breaths. Even if you believe so far, I know you ain't gonna believe this next part, but it really happened. Santa Claus made a big circle and turned and flew right around�he�house. I bet he won't over twenty feet from the upstairs porch when he passes by me and Buford.

Old Santa Claus could really handle them reindeer. Then he headed west again, moving at a pretty good clip this time.

I hate to even tell you this next part, 'cause you'll think I took it right out of the book, but I didn't. Anyway, just about the�time�he was getting out of our hearing, he hollered, "Merry Christmas, everybody!"

And then he was gone.

"Curtis, do you know where Granddaddy keeps that bottle hid in the barn? I need me a drink."

I don't believe that Buford ever told anybody about seeing Santa Claus.

I know I didn't, not until now. But I just had to tell somebody about it. It's been hard keeping it to myself all these years.

I'm a granddaddy myself now. That little girl that caused all this to happen with her faith in Santa Claus is grown and married and has a three-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy.

Me�and Sylvia moved back to North Carolina many years ago and bought a big old farmhouse. Now my grandchildren come and spend Christmas with me and their grandmother. There's not as many of us as there was at Grandma's house, but we have just as big a time and celebrate Christmas just as hard.

In fact, Christmas is about the only time a year I'll take a drink. I always get me a pint of Old Granddad at Christmas time. Since the grandchildren are so small, I don't like to drink in front of them, so I keep my drinking whiskey hid out in the barn.

When I want to go out there and get me a snort, I always tell the grandchildren that I've got to see if the cows got corn. Of course, all the grown-ups know why I'm going out to the barn, or at least they think they do.

I always make my last trip to the barn after I've read the Christmas story and had family prayer. Everybody thinks I'm going out to get me a snort, but they're wrong.

I'm just going out to hear the sleigh bells ring.�

��Charlie Daniels

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

Blue Christmas Part I & Blue Christmas Part II: White Christmas, Or More God Winks - Soapbox Jr. Rewinds

*NOTE* The Holidays haven�t been the same for us since 2019, which was the last Christmas we had our own jolly fat man around. His absence is still overwhelming at times, but we�ve settled into our �new normal� as best we can, but it goes without saying that we still miss him terribly.

�

Here are a pair of Soapbox Jr. Rewinds from Christmas 2020 which both paint vivid pictures of how much his absence impacted us at the most wonderful time of the year.

�

Please read them all the way through, if you check out early in the first one where I was feeling down, you�ll miss the entire point, not to mention the uplifting moments of Part II.

�

These were both written straight from the bottom of my freshly broken heart, but I hope by the end of the second one, you have the same smile that I did.

�

Merry Christmas, everybody!

�

- Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

Blue Christmas Part I � Soapbox Jr. Rewind

Originally written in 2020.

�

I haven�t watched a single Christmas special this year, visions of sugarplums aren�t dancing in my head, and I feel more like saying �Bah humbug� than singing Christmas carols.

�

The stress has been more than any Christmas I can ever remember, and this year I think I understand what the Grinch, Burgermeister Meisterburger the Winter Warlock, the Abominable Snow Monster of the North, the cranky brother with the flaming hair from �The Year Without a Santa Claus� and Bill Murray felt.

�

No, not really�

�

It�s just the overall feeling from the fatigue of a really bad year. I mean, BAD. It�s been bad in almost every way, the pandemic, losing Dad, trying to keep a business based on his talents going without him, pandemic, a chaotic and frustrating election season, a hectic Black Friday/Cyber Monday Christmas push for our website sales, and did I mention the pandemic?

�

Unfortunately, �the most wonderful time of the year� hasn�t quite been the same in 2020. The push for our Christmas website sales usually puts me closer to Christmas Eve before I can relax and start trying to take in the joy of the season, but it�s going to be even more difficult this year.

�

It�s been difficult to find joy this year. To be honest, the whole season has been draining, as if 2020 hasn�t been draining enough.

�

It�s going to be even worse because our round, jolly man with the white beard won�t be at our house this year, and we can�t even have the normalcy of our large Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day traditional gatherings to at least have that to hold on to. Instead of a houseful, it�s going to be a fraction of the size it usually is.

And it�s the biggest �sadiversary� of the year.

�

Dad loved Christmas. He had such a big heart, and he loved every aspect of the holiday.

�

There was no CDB Christmas party this year, no Santa calling up the children and grandchildren of the CDB family. You could see the pure joy in Dad�s eyes as he played Santa�s little helper next to the big guy.

�

Normally on Christmas Eve after attending church, we would have friends and some of our closest CDB family to gather around and listen to Dad read the Christmas story from the Book of Luke and his original story, �A Carolina Christmas Carol.� That has been a tradition in our house since the story was written in the mid-80s.

Then after the reading, Dad would go around the room and ask everyone to say a few words, what they were thankful for, anything on their minds, or just simply, �Merry Christmas� for the shyer guests in attendance.

But I don�t know if Mom will be up for it since it will just be a few of us, and it will probably make her cry more than she already does.

�

So, large men in red suits breaking into homes, tinsel, gifts, mistletoe, lights, the whole thing just seems empty this year.

�

Bah, humbug.

�

But� that�s not what Christmas is about.

�

Christmas is about the miracle of a baby born in a stable over 2,000 years ago who would be the Savior of the world, who would grow to be the most influential person who ever lived, and who would be a living sacrifice for our sins, and the shedding of His blood brings salvation for everyone who wants it.

�

It�s a gift.

�

The best Christmas gift ever.

�

It�s a gift we can�t earn; it�s a gift we don�t deserve.

�

It�s grace.

�

If we have to earn it, it�s not grace.

�

And it�s right there for the taking. We just need to humble ourselves, admit we are sinners and that we need a Savior, acknowledge that Savior is Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, and that God raised Him from the dead.

�

It�s that simple.

�

That�s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

�

It might be time to watch Linus say those words again for at least the 50th plus time; maybe my heart will grow three sizes, it sure could use it this year.

�

God Bless us, everyone.

�

- Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

Blue Christmas Part II: White Christmas, Or More God Winks

Originally written in 2020.

�

On Christmas Eve, I wrote a preamble to go with Dad�s �A Carolina Christmas Carol� story for the website, and I mentioned that, most likely, I would not post anything new until after the first of the year unless something jumped out at me.

�

Well, two things jumped out.

�

One was while I was posting Dad�s story, and the other happened just now.

�

If you recall, last time, I was lamenting the overall lack of Christmas spirit I had been feeling.

�

It wasn�t � as some had suggested � due to forgetting the true meaning of Christmas. Some people just read through the part where I said I was down and not feeling the Christmas spirit and then skipped the part where I laid out what the true meaning actually was.

�

Instead, my lack of joy was simply due to the absence of the round, jolly man with a white beard and a prominent laugh, who was always overflowing with enough Christmas spirit for everyone around, my Dad.

But this morning, as I was writing the introduction. I looked outside, and on Mom and Dad�s porch was the chubbiest bright red cardinal I have ever seen. He landed on the porch swing right outside the kitchen window where I was working, stayed for a minute or so, and then flew off.

�

I had to smile because, as legend has it, cardinals can be our loved ones who have passed away, coming to comfort us in times of distress, around celebrations, or when we are just missing them. I�m not going to debate how that is theologically possible, but I am well aware that Dad was not reincarnated as a cardinal or anything like that. All I know is that it was reassuring to see that chubby red fella out there.

�

When I mentioned it to mom, she tearfully said it was Dad checking on us, and it made me smile, something I don�t feel like I have done much of as of late.

�

Legend or not, I�m calling a �God wink� on this one.

�

Mom and I had a very low-key Christmas Eve with less than a quarter of what we would have in a normal year, but the food was delicious, and the company was good.

�

Mom went to bed, and I went to gas up Dad�s truck, and it started snowing to beat the band.

�

There had been a few flurries earlier in the evening, but this was flat coming down. It was mostly blowing around, and I figured it would be the end of it.

�

I then stopped back by my house to put the finishing touches on my main Christmas tree (Yes, I know it�s Christmas Eve, don�t judge me), and finally got to watch �A Charlie Brown Christmas,� I had to stop and take it in when Linus makes his speech telling the story from the Book of Luke, and I felt a little more cheer filling my heart. And when I finally finished my last-minute decorating (stop judging me), I grabbed my coat, and then I was going to head back up to Mom and Dad�s , but when I stepped out of my back door, suddenly I was six years old again.

�

Snow on Christmas Eve.

�

For the first time in� I really couldn�t say� we were getting a White Christmas, even if it�s just a dusting.

�

Middle Tennessee Christmases are funning things. It can be breezy and 70�, 45� and raining, or downright chilly, but snow on Christmas Eve is something magically rare around these parts.

�

A God Wink from a pleasantly plump cardinal, and now spectacular snow covering the ground on a cold Christmas Eve is exactly what I needed.

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�Well, in Whoville, they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day.� � Dr. Seuss

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This has still been a rough year, and, of course, I still miss Dad, but I think I�m finally recapturing a little of the Christmas spirit I�ve been missing, and I know how truly blessed I am to have had such an amazing man in my life for over 55 years.

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If that was you today, Dad, thanks for stopping by when I really needed it. I love you!

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Merry Christmas!

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Happy Birthday, Jesus!

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- Charlie Daniels, Jr.

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CD, Jr. & Hazel Daniels Surprised THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND With PANDORA's BILLIONAIRE Award AT THE GRAND OLE OPRY

Award Commemorates Over One Billion Streams on Pandora During Saturday Night Opry Performance, Iconic Southern Rock and Country Group Surprised with Plaque by Hazel Daniels and Charlie Daniels, Jr.; Wife and Son of the Late Charlie Daniels

The Grace of Almighty God and the United States Military - Soapbox Jr.

�I learned at a very early age that to things and two things alone protect America from those who seek to destroy it - the grace of Almighty God and the United States military. - Charlie Daniels

That quote of Dad�s has been shortened by him on several occasions. In fact, the one we have included on our T-shirts is �Only two things protect America, the grace of Almighty God and the United States military.� So, it has existed in various forms for many years, but it is a sentiment he stood by for years and has resonated with many people.

I don�t know of many people � at least not the ones who follow Dad�s social media � who would have a problem with that statement, in either form.

However, an old friend recently sent me a page from a daily devotional that included the quote, but not in the way I expected.

The writer -�who I won�t name because he didn�t name Dad -��but suffice it to say he�s a big name in the governing body of the Church of Christ and a senior fellow with Lipscomb University in Nashville.

He begins with �According to a famous country singer, only two things protect America. �The grace of Almighty God and the United States Military.�

He then jumped in to say that the musician (Dad) must not have read Psalm 33:16-17 where it says �The best equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don�t count on your warhorse to give you victory � for all its strength it cannot save you.�

I can assure you, sir, he read those words many times.

He then pointed to the story of Gideon where God kept instructing Gideon to let more and more of his people go so that God and God alone could defeat the Midianites and not allow Israel to feel that they were able to defeat their foes on their own without God�s help.

He also referenced that David was punished by God for counting Israel�s soldiers. King Jehoshaphat led his armies in prayer which protected his kingdom of Judah from the enemies that gathered against them - Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir � by forcing them to turn against each other and destroy one another without Judah even raising a sword.

The devotional writer then hammers home that God�s people are to rely on Him alone and to respect those who serve, but not to count on them for �ultimate protection� by pointing out that God alone can save.

I think this gentleman needs to re-think what Dad is saying here. Is he saying that our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard � and now � Space Force are combined the equivalent to the power of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit?

Absolutely not!

The order of the words should give a clue as to the importance of the subjects mentioned. Just like with ingredients on a box of cereal, the most important or the most abundant ingredients are listed first, with the lesser ingredients listed in descending order.

At no time did Dad ever equate our U.S. Military power with all the power of heaven above, he merely listed the two things that are essential for protecting our nation, stating that both are essential to our safety, albeit in different measures.

If the author of the devotional had learned more about Dad rather than assuming that his knowledge of the scriptures was lacking in order for him to craft a pithy daily reading about trusting God, I think it would have gone better for him.

As I pointed out recently, Dad was extremely well-read and read his Bible every day.

He knew the stories about trusting military might alone, and I would also point out that God�s involvement with the kingdoms of Israel and Judah had the benefit of His prophets who relayed God�s will to the kings, or spoke directly to individuals as was the case with Gideon and others.

Am I nitpicking a bit?

Did the distinguished author mean to undermine Dad�s grasp of the scriptures?

I don�t know, but I do know that if Dad was alive, he would have written something along the lines of what you just read, although I can assure you, his response would have been much more eloquent than mine.

But, he�s not here, so you�re stuck with me, and I�m always going to stand up for Dad and defend him tooth and nail, and it�s an honor to do so.

I love you Dad. I�ve got your back, always.

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The Devil Went Down to Georgia 45th Anniversary

BFD / AUDIUM NASHVILLE & BLUE HAT RECORDS TO RELEASE SPECIAL EDITION VINYLS OF 3 LEGENDARY CHARLIE DANIELS ALBUMS

Limited Edition Vinyls Arriving in Time for 2023 Holiday Season Include 'Off The Grid-Doin’ It Dylan', 'Memories, Memoirs & Miles: Songs of a Lifetime' and 'Night Hawk.'

Happy Fourth Heavenly Birthday - Soapbox, Jr.

The weather is beginning to change, Fall is definitely in the air, and that it brings, football, cooler temperatures, Halloween, football, Thanksgiving, and did I mention football?�

There is also a hint of bittersweet that lingers in the autumn breeze, it�s one of the dreaded �sadiversaries� that I�ve written about for the past three years. October 28, 2023 would have been Dad�s 87^th�birthday, and it still doesn�t seem possible that this will be his 4^th�birthday after �changing addresses.�

This time of the year, the CDB would typically slow down a bit, so he would be around more than the super busy summer months, so the void becomes more vivid.

So many things that I would have loved to talk with him about, the ups and downs of Tennessee Vols and Titans football the past couple of years, the shaky state of our nation � and the world, questions about CDB history that I wish I had access to while I�ve been writing, and some long-gestating songs that he never got around to officially recording.

The bottom line is simple, I still miss him terribly.�

He would be at no loss of words for so many things going on right now, and I would love to be able to have those conversations with him�because he was so knowledgeable about so many things.

He was one of the most well-read people I have ever known, He was always reading, first by carrying around several hardback books, before adapting to his iPads as the primary reading sources.

He loved Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, John LeCarre, and had more recently, Brad Thor, who referenced a Charlie Daniels song in his book �Foreign Agent.� The two followed each other on Twitter, and Brad gave Dad an advance copy of, �Hidden Order,� for which he contributed a quote for the book jacket, �Rockin� from cover to cover.�

Dad also read his Bible daily. He and Mom would have coffee and Jesus in the mornings, except Dad didn�t like coffee in the morning, he would drink it later in the day, but his morning beverage of choice was Bewley�s Irish Breakfast tea, shipped directly from across the pond.

Very often, he was not around to celebrate on his actual birthday because of his busy touring schedule, and quite often he was either performing or en route to another city where he was scheduled to perform.

One time Dad was entertaining our troops at a military base in South Korea, when a young lady brought out a cake for him on stage and everyone sang �Happy Birthday,� but unfortunately, while she was trying to show the cake to Dad and the crowd, the cake slipped off the tray and onto the stage. The poor woman was mortified and extremely apologetic, but Mom and Dad told her that he had plenty of birthday cakes over the years, and it was nothing to worry about.

In 2011, Dad celebrated his 75^th�Birthday at the Grand Ole Opry, actually, it was the day after, but the Opry had special Hatch Show Prints made up to commemorate the show, and a spectacular cake complete with a gold fiddle, and four years later on October 27, 2015, the Opry had another cake for him � two, in fact - one in the shape of a cowboy hat, and another one in the shape of a gold fiddle.

Then, of course, the following year was the big 80.�

The entire year of 2016 was a whirlwind for Dad, with his announcement and later induction into the County Music Hall of Fame, his appearance on the 50^th�CMA Awards and his 80^th�Birthday party which was held in the Hall�s Rotunda where all the member plaques hang. I also put together a video of highlights from Dad�s and/or the CDB�s TV, commercials and movie appearances, or just songs that were used in TV/Film.

It was a highly satisfying labor of love and a modified version of it lives is on the CDB YouTube Channel.

It was one of the best Birthday gifts I ever got him, because trying to find that perfect gift for him was always a head-scratcher.

One thing I don�t have to worry about is what to buy him for his birthday anymore. He was absolutely the hardest person in the entire world to buy for. If he saw something he wanted, he bought it, so he never used to talk about something he hoped to have at some point. If he had, then we would have had some ideas for birthdays and Christmas.

What I wouldn�t give to be racking my brain to try and figure out the perfect gift for the man who has everything.

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Dad.

I love you and eagerly await the day - many years from now -when we will be reunited. It will be nothing short of glorious!

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FIFTH ANNUAL CHARLIE DANIELS PATRIOT AWARDS HAULS IN $400,000 FOR U.S. MILITARY VETS

2023 Charlie Daniels Patriot Awards Presented to Lee Greenwood, Hunt Brothers Pizza and Operation Song Staffers Bob Regan, John Taylor and Don Goodman Nashville Businessman Donnie Mingus Receives Giving Heart Award

Standing in My Father’s Shadow - Soapbox, Jr.

August 23, 2023 may go down as the most surreal moment in my life since Dad went home on July 6, 2020. This was an emotional night for me, and despite the melancholy that this night held, it also bore the mark of jubilation�but it also could have been incredibly daunting, but for the grace of God.

A couple of months back, the�Academy of Country Music�announced that Dad would be posthumously honored with The Merle Haggard Spirit Award at the 16th Annual ACM Honors show at the iconic�Ryman Auditorium�in Nashville.

For those unfamiliar with these specific awards, this is not the big flashy ACM Awards which usually air in the spring. These accolades encompass a range of industry tributes, recognizing venues, promoters, musicians, and also paying homage to individual songwriters and artists. Unlike the unexpected thrills of the CMA Awards, ACM Awards, or the Grammys, the honorees know in advance that they are receiving awards, so there�s no element of surprise with the ACM Honors.�

Since dad was unavailable, the responsibility of representing him fell upon my shoulders, along with my mother, my newly-wedded wife, and some of our dearest friends and CDB employees, past and present.

When the question of who should accept the award arose, Mom made it adamantly clear that she didn�t want to do it, so the responsibility fell to yours truly.�

I�ve delivered a few speeches in my lifetime, most of them came about after Dad �changed addresses.� However, I had never faced an audience of this magnitude, potentially reaching millions once the broadcast airs in September. Needless to say, the looming scale of it all could easily have been overwhelming.

I spent the weekend leading up to the awards show refining ideas and shaping my speech. I dedicated several days to drafting and re-drafting. My aim was to capture the essence of my father without becoming monotonous. He was one to keep his speeches concise and to the point. His speech during the Medallion Ceremony, when he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, is probably one of the shortest in the Hall's recent history.

But this was a proud son�s heartfelt tribute to his departed father, however, I still wanted to do it in a way that he would have approved of.

The days leading up to the awards show were a whirlwind of activity. While I consistently polished my speech, I found little time to actually rehearse it. Fortunately, the production team had a teleprompter on standby, just in case.

We arrived at the Ryman at 4:55 for some press for the event, and a brief interview before showtime at 6:30. The early awards consisted mostly of behind-the-scenes industry awards, venues of the year, concert promoters, musicians, with most of the artist awards to begin around 7:15.

As I sat there, I started feeling twinges of nervousness, I was having to clear my throat while I was sitting in the pews and I was concerned that I would end up coughing or a sudden frog in my throat. What if I trip going up the stairs?�

Silly things like that.

Finally, the moment arrived. Our friend,�Storme Warren�took the stage to introduce Dad�s award, and once again, Storme told everyone that he was the reason he moved to Nashville, then he introduced a moving video tribute featuring kind words from @Reba McEntire, Storme,�Darius Rucker,�Lainey Wilson�and others.

Who was scheduled to do the musical tribute for Dad remained a mystery, even as I saw three people taking the stage in front of the house band. At first glance, it appeared to be�Chris Stapleton�in the shadows, but to my surprise, it was actually a transformed�Billy Ray Cyrus�joined by�F I R E R O S E�and�Travis Denning.

The trio delivered a solid rendition of Dad�s �Long Haired Country Boy,� and to my surprise, they did the later version that Dad performed which omitted references to marijuana and getting drunk.

After their performance concluded, Storme introduced me and I rose to accept the award.

Here goes nothing�

Mindful of my wife�s advice, I made sure to button my jacket and ascended the stairs to the hallowed ground of the Ryman stage. and graciously received the award from the young lady who presented all the awards that night.

Before I began my acceptance speech, I acknowledged to the audience that Billy Ray had performed the version my father favored, but also realizing that being backstage, they probably didn�t hear it.

The moment was finally here, do or die��

This is what I said:

�I�m sorry Dad couldn�t be here to accept this award, but he�s currently booked in the most glorious venue anyone could ever dream of playing in.

Mom and Dad moved to Nashville in 1967, with $20 to their name, two-year-old me and the clutch out of their car.

But Dad always said that he was living proof that the Lord will give you the desires of your heart, and the Lord provided�our family with more success than we could have ever imagined.

The road kept him away a lot when I was growing up, but I knew he was making sacrifices for us to have a better life.

To me he will always be the best there�s ever been.

Thank you to everyone who had a part in Dad�s career. And I�d never have time to thank everyone, the fans, thank you to the Academy for giving him this award.�

He would be deeply honored and humbled.

Mom and I miss him terribly, but we know that we will see him again thanks to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Dad left behind a legacy of music, patriotism, helping our veterans, honoring our Lord, and standing up for what�
he believed in.�

My mission is to keep that legacy alive for as long as possible.

We�ve got some exciting projects in the works, to help further that legacy.�

You ain�t seen nothin� yet.�

As Dad always said, let�s all make the day count.�

Thank you.�

Love you, Dad

Whew� would you believe it!? Somehow, I managed to get through it without flubbing a line or making it blatantly obvious I was using a teleprompter. It was mostly a safety net. I had committed the first few lines to memory, and all I really needed it for was a point of reference, and maybe a nudge every now and then.

I guess it went over pretty well. The speech got several moments of applause throughout, but I can�t remember how many for sure, it was all a bit of a blur.

As we exited the stage, Storme gave me a high five, and told me I hit it out of the park, which was comforting to hear.

As we entered the photo opp area backstage, Billy Ray and company were back there waiting on me and Billy Ray said they hoped that they did Dad justice. I thanked them for the tribute and for doing the version that Dad would have preferred. It turns out it was Firerose�s idea as Billy Ray said the credit should go to her, so hats off to you, Firerose.

A series of camera clicks captured the moment. Then came the bittersweet handover of the award, the emblem of our triumph. Soon, it'll bear the engraving of Dad�s name, a reminder of tonight's glory and shipped to us in a few days.

It was a relief that I was able to pull it off, but the odd thing is, I don�t remember if I said everything I wrote, I keep thinking to myself, did I do that line? I�m pretty sure everything correctly, but it just almost seemed like an out-of-body experience.

The biggest thing for me was that once I stood on stage, there was no stage fright, despite the audience. I was addressing some music business bigwigs, accomplished artists and songwriters, but somehow, the least talented guy to take the stage that night pulled it off.

I have no doubt that the Lord above and my Dad helped me get through with no major catastrophes.

But there was one moment that hit me like a ton of bricks, but I kept it in check. When I was on stage, I looked down at the shadow on the floor that a stage light behind me was casting. If I hadn�t been focused on the speech, I would have probably had to pause and absorb the moment.

The shadow looked like what I imagine Dad saw when he took the stage because I was wearing my cowboy hat. It�s not as big as the ones Dad wore, but the shadow exaggerated the shadow making it look a lot like his.

I was literally standing in Dad�s shadow, and it was comforting.

I hope he liked what I said, and I hope the length was just right.

When can you expect to see the speech, the ACM Honors will air on September, 18th� BUT, I have no idea if my speech will make the show because of time constraints.

The main portion of the show was over 4 hours long, and the show is scheduled to run from 7 PM Central/8 PM Eastern to 9 PM Central/10 PM Eastern, which with commercials ends up being about 90 minutes, so who knows if Dad, Billy Ray and I make the cut.

Now there were still a lot of behind-the-scenes industry folks who were honored after the first hour of the marathon show which probably wouldn�t be ratings magnets, so I imagine many of those will end up on the cutting room floor, but it just depends on how much time they have to work with. If for some reason we don�t make the cut, I�ll ask the ACM if they could please release the segment on YouTube so we can share it with Dad�s fans.

It was an honor and a privilege to accept the ACM�s Spirit Award for Dad, and I have no doubt that he was there in spirit himself.

And I hope I did him proud, because I�m sure proud of him.

He�s the best there�s ever been.

Things don�t get much easier on Friday night, I�ve been asked to say a prayer for an event to raise money for�MTSU�s Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center�in Murfreesboro.

Prayers would be appreciated.

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

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Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

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�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

Try That With a Simple Man in a Small Town - Soapbox, Jr.

Like me, no doubt most of you have heard the controversy over the video for�Jason Aldean's song �Try That in a Small Town� being pulled from CMT. And if you�re anything like me, you had the same thought I did,�

�CMT still plays music videos?�

Once upon a time you could at least count on �Pure Country� or �Urban Cowboy,� three times a day, but every time I scan through CMT on the channel guide these days I�m greeted by vintage sitcoms or movies like �Ghostbusters� or �Beverly Hills Cop 2.��

But I�ll take their word for it, there may be a 30-minute block sometime between 2 AM and 4 AM where all the latest music videos get to shine.

But Jason�s video and song have been decried as racist, divisive, bad for country music, and bad for America.�

Hmmm� somehow this all sounds familiar�

In August of 1989, the CDB released �Simple Man,� a song that began as a potential title song for the Patrick Swayze movie �Next of Kin,� the producers passed on the song, but a few slight changes by Dad reworked the song into a song that got people�s attention, to one extreme or the other.

It was his fastest-rising song since 1980�s �In America,� but for everyone who loved the song�s anti-crime theme and the condemning of liberal judges who turned habitual criminals back out on the streets there were a handful of loudmouthed critics who felt he was advocating vigilante justice, but it was more about taking violent criminals seriously.

�Simple Man� got a lot of publicity, good and not-so-good. Dad said on stage that he had been called a fascist and a Bible-thumper, to which he claimed that he read his Bible every day, but he never thumped it, and he emphasized the �thump� by thumping his microphone.

In the 1980s, Dad had the knack for putting his finger on the pulse of the heartland of America, a part that had been largely ignored by the mainstream which seems to think that if it doesn�t involve one of the U.S. Coasts, then it�s not important.

Over thirty years later, the song still resonates, especially today. The song seems to be describing our nation today, when instead, it was a much simpler and less chaotic time than we face today.

It�s not surprising that �Simple Man� is still one of the CDB�s most popular songs, and in YouTube views and streaming services, it�s consistently in the top three CDB songs.

Then in May, Jason Aldean released �Try That in a Small Town,� a song that didn�t really seem to ruffle anyone�s feathers until a music video came out recently showing security camera footage of violent criminals robbing stores, and rioters - excuse me - �peaceful protesters� from 2020, Antifa/BLM types.

Because of the BLM connection, many have painted the Aldean video as racist, although, I don�t recall seeing anyone�s skin color, because all of the attackers were masked up.

I know there have been problems with police brutality, and I would never say that all cops are good, but I would also stand up to anyone who says all members of the law enforcement community are bad, but here�s what BLM doesn�t want you to know. BLM is Antifa and Occupy Wall Street, etc... They are the militant wing of the leftists which began with radical groups like the Weather Underground from the 1960s.�

In fact, BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors says she and co-founder Alica Garza are �trained Marxists,� decried the �nuclear family structure� and aimed to �dismantle the patriarchal practice,� which was later scrubbed from the BLM website.

Not to say that all who have followed the BLM protests and riots are in it to promote the organization's agenda, but the agenda is there whether they realize it or not.

The bottom line is this, neither song mentions race, and both songs are anti-lawlessness�and anti-violent crime.

It�s as simple as that.

A video of a young African-American man being shocked at the line in �Simple Man� advocating hanging drug dealers was surfacing on social media in 2022 with many piling on by saying that when Dad says �drug dealer� he really means �black people,� however, a brilliant young up-and-coming country singer named Joel Patrick��The Legendary Black Redneck� quickly shoots that down by saying that if you hear "drug dealer" and immediately think �black people,� then YOU are the racist.

I can�t wait to hear what Joel says about Jason Aldean�s song and video, I know it�s gotta be good.

Stand firm, Jason.

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

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Three Years Gone - Soapbox Jr.

I recently wrote a heartfelt Soapbox Jr. called �Trilogy of Grief��delving into the unexpected lessons I gleaned from reluctantly attending a grief group with my mom back in 2021.

The crux of it was that the third anniversary of dad�s �changing addresses� was almost upon us, and I shared a few things about grief I�ve picked up in the last couple of years.

Now the day is upon us.

Dad officially went home the morning of July 6, 2020, three years ago today.

There has been a slight sense of dread leading up to this day, but nothing overwhelming. Curiously, I experienced an unusual headache last night and a persistent fatigue this morning, despite a decent night's rest.

I met Mom at her house and we ventured to the cemetery accompanied by our friend Michele Capps. Her loss was equally profound�a month prior to our own, she bid farewell to her husband, Jimmy Capps, a celebrated guitarist and a cherished member of the Grand Ole Opry band.

In solemn reverence, we paid our respects at the graveside. Mom had her moments of emotion, and I'm glad I was there to support her.

During our visit, we couldn't help but notice a few matters that needed the attention of the cemetery management. I gently brushed away the grass clippings that had veiled my dad's marker, a small gesture to honor his memory.

Leaving the cemetery, we had at a nearby Mexican restaurant. My mom, understandably, experienced moments of vulnerability throughout our meal.�

After all, when you've spent fifty-five years with someone, an unfathomable void resides within your heart.

That, my friends, is grief.

Grief encapsulates the enduring love for a departed soul, forcing the heart and soul to recalibrate in the absence of that beloved presence.

Let me share another nugget of wisdom gleaned from my begrudging attendance at the grief group: grief is the price we pay for love.

If we do not grieve, we did not truly love.

However, grief manifests differently for each individual. Some weep ceaselessly, while others seldom shed a tear. Some internalize their pain, while others find solace in incessant conversations about their loss. It is not a one-size-fits-all experience.

Regrettably, grief is an inevitable companion on our life's journey. Whether it be the passing of parents, grandparents, spouses, or our dearest friends, it will eventually touch us all.

Dad's departure has left an immense void in our lives, and we continue to navigate its treacherous depths as best we can.

Day by day, we persist, drawing strength from the unwavering belief that we will be reunited. And when that glorious day arrives, there shall be an extraordinary celebration like no other.

We�ve been hard at work on several projects which I hope to be able to talk about in the next month or so.

Exciting times lie ahead for CDB fans, even though Dad cannot be physically present to witness what we have in store. Rest assured, he shall be watching from the most extraordinary vantage point imaginable.

I miss you, Dad. I�m always keeping your legacy alive and doing my best to make the day count.

Love,�

Little Charlie

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

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Charlie Daniels to be Honored With The Merle Haggard ACM Spirit Award at ACM Honors on August 23

THE 16TH ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC HONORS™ WILL TAKE PLACE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23 AT THE HISTORIC RYMAN AUDITORIUM IN NASHVILLE, TN

Trilogy of Grief - Soapbox, Jr.

It seems like it was a million years ago; it seems like it was yesterday. Sometimes it still seems like I will eventually wake and the past three years were just and I don�t mean just the pandemic we went through or the current state of the world and our nation.

No, I'm talking about the looming third anniversary of July 6, 2020�the day my Dad went home to forever be with the Lord.

Memories and emotions flood my mind whenever this anniversary approaches. There's a mix of anticipation and unease as I prepare to relive that fateful day and the subsequent moments, as if they happened just yesterday, vividly replaying for the third consecutive year.

Grief is an intricate maze. It can feel like it's mostly behind you, and then suddenly, it resurfaces without warning.

You can go from feeling strong and composed one minute, to being struck by a wave of sorrow and longing when something reminds you of your loved one.

My mom has had her fair share of good and bad days, and sometimes those days switch back and forth within any given day.

Everyone copes with grief differently, some people cry all the time, some cry hardly at all, if ever. Some people are depressed, some press on and put on a brave face and soldier on. Some do a combination of all of the above.

Shortly after my Dad�s passing, I reluctantly joined a grief support group with my mom. Initially, I believed it would be a waste of time because I had more important things to do, I had to pick up the shattered pieces of our lives and figure out how to sustain Dad�s legacy without him, and I had more important things to than to worry about myself.

Back then, and even now, I never felt like I had the luxury of grieving. I had an overwhelming responsibility to uphold my dad's legacy�writing about his music, managing the CDB website and social media, and now hosting a podcast. For now, these endeavors have been my grief therapy.

Find what works for you.

But the reluctant grief group was not a complete waste of time, I did learn a couple of valuable lessons.

One is that the K�bler-Ross Model of grief isn�t necessarily accurate for everyone. The model - named for its creator, Elisabeth K�bler-Ross � suggests that grief follows a linear progression through five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. But in reality, grief is far more complex.

In the grief group, it was suggested that rather than stages of grief are more like a rubber band ball, where all the stages of grief are tightly intertwined. Any of these stages can resurface at any moment, catching us off guard. This seems to better capture the experiences of both my mother and me, rather than a rigid sequence of steps.

That seems more accurate to what Mom and I have experienced rather than step one, step two, etc,�

And the second thing I learned is that as agonizing as grief can be it is the price we pay for love. If we didn't grieve in some way, it would mean we didn't truly love. And living a life devoid of love is no life at all.�

But one of the most profound insights about grief came from an unexpected source�a Disney+ Marvel TV show called WandaVision.

Now, I won't delve too deep into the complicated plot, but essentially, the show revolves around a character grappling with grief. This character, Wanda, possesses immense power and seemingly uses it to resurrect her love, an android named Vision, along with someone who may or may not be her brother. All of this takes place in a small town, where each episode pays homage to different decades of TV sitcoms.

I told you it was an unexpected source.

In one episode, as Wanda discusses her grief over her brother's death, Vision�a being made of wires and circuits�offers an astonishingly insightful response: "What is grief if not love persevering?"�Indeed, it is.

Pretty deep stuff for a show based on comic book characters.

Grief is the lingering love that persists even when our beloved is no longer there to receive it. When the ones we hold dear are absent, our hearts and souls feel adrift, grappling with the hollowness of their absence.

Grief sucks, plain and simple.

As I mentioned before, we must each find what works for us. In my case, writing has been instrumental in navigating this tumultuous journey.

It�s been a while since I�ve delved into my feelings of losing Dad. Over the past year, I've focused more on writing about general memories of dad, some controversial moments in Dad's career, breakdowns of his albums, and the legendary Volunteer Jam concerts.

But with year three without �The Best There�s Ever Been� approaching like a freight train, I�m sure I will open my heart about losing dad again very soon.

Don�t get me wrong, I�d never want to deprive Dad of the unimaginable beauty and eternal love he�s experiencing now. That would be selfish of me. Instead, I'll yearn for the day when we're reunited, and together we'll rejoice in our reunion.

That being said, I�m also excited for several projects we have in the works, things that will ensure that we will keep Dad�s legacy alive for years to come.

Stay tuned.

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

The Controversial Charlie Daniels Part III - Soapbox Jr.

I didn�t intend for this to be a three-part series. After the last installment, I realized there were more musical controversies, as well as some that sprouted from Dad's Twitter account.

But let's rewind to 1988 first.

That year, Dad released his first official album with Epic Records Nashville titled 'Homesick Heroes.' The album featured the hit single "Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues," which climbed into the top ten on the charts.

Soon after, he released another single called "Uneasy Rider 88." It served as a thematic sequel to his original 1973 hit, recounting the tale of a hippie who experienced a flat tire in Jackson, MS, and found himself caught up in a brawl with the locals at a redneck beer joint called the Dew Drop Inn. The hippie ended up kicking one of the customers in the knee cap, fabricating lies about him, and chasing them through the parking lot in his car once his tire was fixed.

Dad had an idea for a similar fish-out-of-water story, but this time set in a more contemporary context. He envisioned two cowboys mistakenly stumbling into a gay bar and getting into a scuffle with crossdressers and other patrons. After escaping the bar, they would be pulled over and arrested by a cop who ultimately let them off with a warning at the beginning of the song.

Controversial? Absolutely. But in today's overly sensitive world, the controversy has only intensified. What many fail to grasp is that both songs poke fun at both sides of the conflict.

Initially, people assumed that Dad was merely poking fun at Southerners in the original track. However, he actually wrote it in response to fellow musicians who were petrified of venturing into the South after watching the movie "Easy Rider." Being a Southerner himself, Dad found their fears amusing because he knew they were baseless. So, both sides are satirized to some extent.

The same holds true for the 1988 remake. Dad playfully skewers the bar's clientele while also taking jabs at the oblivious cowboys, one of whom danced with a man in drag without even realizing it. Which brings to mind a Rodney Carrington song...or Bud Light�s downfall, Dylan Mulvaney."�

In both songs, characters are thrust into unfamiliar environments, leading to altercations.

Despite Dad's Christian worldview and his personal opinions on homosexuality, he never intended to attack the gay community with this song, contrary to what some have suggested. Claims that the song encouraged violence against gay people�which is � You guessed it � baloney!*

*For clarification, read "The Controversial Charlie Daniels Part II"

Just as the original didn't promote violence against Southerners, the 1988 remake didn't endorse violence against the gay community�but the controversy proved too much, resulting in the song receiving minimal airplay and failing to chart.

Back in 1988, the song flew largely under the radar. Today, I can't imagine the backlash and calls for Dad's cancellation in our hypersensitive society, which feels like aminefield of unforgivable hurt feelings.

Fast forward to 2008, and Dad found himself entangled in a controversy not of his own making, courtesy of the video game "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock."

I received the game and found it intriguing. While I hadn't played the earlier volumes, this one looked like a blast, and it was.�

The game offered different modes, but the story mode started you off in a small club, gradually progressing to larger venues as you unlocked more songs. Along the way, you battled "boss" characters like Slash from Guns 'N Roses and Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine.

But it was during the final rounds that the controversy arose. After defeating the other bosses, you faced off against a sinister-looking manager named "Lou." Later, you learned that "Lou" stood for Lucifer, and the final showdown involved a guitar battle between you and Lou, performing a speed metal version of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," recorded by Steve Ouimette. The song was incredibly fast and difficult, so unless you played it on the easiest level, the devil would likely emerge victorious.

Dad had no prior knowledge of the song's inclusion in the game, or at least didn�t know what the game would be like.

Once he saw it and realized the game�s imagery, along with the potential for the devil to win, he wasn't pleased.

To Dad, it was of utmost importance that the devil always lost in the song. It's a song about triumphing over the devil, so there should be no possibility of any other outcome.

So, what went wrong?

There was a communication breakdown with his music publisher. Dad had a clause in his contract stipulating that all song uses, or "syncs," required his approval or the approval of someone within the CDB organization.

Unfortunately, whoever issued the license to Activision, the game's publisher, from Dad's music publisher failed to obtain clearance from anyone at CDB. This necessitated some damage control from the music publisher due to their massive blunder.

Needless to say, they learned their lesson and never repeated such a mistake.

That same year, Twitter emerged, ushering in a new era of controversies for Dad and plenty of others.

In 2008 Jack Dorsey launched a new social media platform called Twitter.Upon its launch, a cousin of Dad's wisely secured the account name @CharlieDaniels to prevent someone else from snagging it. The account remained dormant for over three years.

I introduced Dad to Twitter and gave him a crash course in late April. It seemed like a perfect fit for him�an immediate connection with fans and a platform for someone unafraid to voice strong opinions.

He experimented with it, and observed how others used the platform.

Finally, on May 6, 2011, Dad tweeted "Testing�", his very first tweet. From that point forward, he embraced Twitter wholeheartedly. I even teased him about becoming a "serial tweeter."

Over time, Dad found himself entangled in a few controversies on Twitter.

In 2016, one tweet was completely misconstrued, leading to accusations of Dad being a racist - again. He had criticized college students who had never faced real hardships in their lives yet believed they knew everything. His tweet read, "There are some kids in college who should spend a year or more picking cotton".

Predictably, it sparked a storm of replies, with one person claiming that white people had no history of picking cotton, so he felt it was a racist statement.�

This individual was oblivious to the fact that Dad himself had picked cotton in his younger years in North Carolina. He had also toiled in the state�s tobacco fields. In essence, this genius inadvertently proved Dad's point�he thought he knew everything when, in reality, he did not. Perhaps a dose of hard work would have done him some good, precisely what Dad had intended to convey.

Dad was also outspoken about the NFL's kneeling controversy, which nearly tore apart the game he loved�professional football. While we were Dallas Cowboys fans during my childhood, we repented of our sins when Jerry Jones fired Tom Landry in the late 1980s. Landry had been the only coach the Cowboys had ever known at the time.�

So the Cowboys were out now, but our second favorite team was the Houston Oilers, who eventually moved to Nashville and became the Tennessee Titans.

Dad became an inaugural season ticket holder, and we still hold those seats. However, had things not improved with the disrespect for the Anthem, I suspect he would have sold them or let them go.

One of Dad's tweets on the subject�pondered, �Wonder how Vince Lombardi would have reacted to his players kneeling during the anthem� and it garnered a lot of responses,�of both the positive and the "shut up" variety

Nevertheless, Dad never shied away from expressing his opinions, particularly on current events. He possessed a well-read mind and stayed attuned to the world's happenings, all within the original 144-character limit of Twitter.

Dad eventually developed a routine of daily tweets. He would start with a scripture and a prayer, which he improvised on the spot, followed by the following tweets:

�REMEMBER 9-11�

�Pray for the blue�

�22 VETERANS COMMIT SUICIDE EVERY DAY!!�

�125,000 innocent unborn babies will be murdered by abortionists around the world today� � a figure backed up by the World Health Organization�s own website from 2008.

On that note, he also suggested that some cities declare themselves sanctuaries for the unborn and refuse to enforce federal abortion laws, highlighting the hypocrisy of cities declaring themselves sanctuaries for illegal aliens.

But the tweet he became best known for was "Benghazi Ain't Going Away!"�a phrase steeped in controversy.

Like many Americans, Dad was outraged when the then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton uttered the words, "WHAT DIFFERENCE, AT THIS POINT, DOES IT MAKE?" during Senate hearings. This statement came after the Obama administration hastily blamed the attacks on an anti-Mohammed video�a video that I would argue 99-100% of those involved had never even heard of�ignoring the fact that the attack occurred on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11.

To this day, it feels like there's more to the story than we know. Why was Ambassador Chris Stevens even there?

Dad was friends with Mark "Oz" Geist and had met Kris Paronto and John Tiegen, survivors of the Benghazi attack. After reading "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi," he took to Twitter to proclaim "Benghazi Ain't Going Away," regardless of the Clintons and the Obama administration's hopes that it would.

However, many on Twitter swiftly aligned themselves with the Democrat leadership, dismissing it as just another Republican witch hunt�a waste of seven million dollars. As far as witch hunts go - that sounds like a bargain compared with more expensive recent witch hunts. Inflation, maybe?

So, because some swamp creatures were unwilling to investigate other swamp creatures as thoroughly as they should have, it was all chalked up to a Republican delusion.

Ah, here comes that "B" word again.

But regardless of where you stand on the matter, Dad wanted to keep the Benghazi issue in the public eye. Hence, he tweeted "Benghazi Ain't Going Away" from September 2012 until the day before he passed away. He did take a break from tweeting it for a while, maybe six months to a year, but eventually resumed.

With only a few exceptions, Dad's Twitter account continues to tweet the phrase daily. We even added an image to accompany it�a T-shirt design we created shortly after Dad's passing. In September 2022, we updated the image to include "2012-2022" in honor of the tenth anniversary of the attack.

Needless to say, that move sparked its own controversy.

Some brilliant individuals insisted that tweeting the image on 9/11 was shameful because it was completely unrelated to the day's events. They conveniently ignored the fact that the attack occurred on 9/11/2012, marking the tenth anniversary. But it seems some people seem to be happy living in their oblivious little bubbles.

Dad's daily controversial tweets continue like clockwork, barring the occasional slip-up when I'm pulled in multiple directions and forget to schedule them in advance. But I always get back on track, and the Twitter world is righted once again.

As I�ve said many times before, Dad never shied away from controversy, and I don�t either. I still stand behind his worldview and his values, and I�m not ashamed to say that Benghazi ain�t going away on my watch, either.

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

The Controversial Charlie Daniels Part II - Soapbox Jr.

�I�m the kinda man wouldn�t harm a mouse, but if I catch somebody breakin� in my house, I got a 12-gauge shotgun waitin� on the other side� � Charlie Daniels 1989

The controversies�continue!

One of the most popular songs on the 'Fire on the Mountain' album was the rebellious anthem called "Long Haired Country Boy." It was an ode to a free-spirited simple life, with the title character emphasizing his carefree lifestyle with lines like "I get stoned in the morning, I get drunk in the afternoon," and later declaring, "I don't want much of nothin� at all, but I will take another toke."

However, in the mid-1980s, something changed. A transformation occurred within Dad�s heart. He delved deeper into his faith and made personal adjustments. Although he still occasionally indulged in a drink, he no longer felt right singing positively about getting drunk in the afternoon. Unlike�Willie, Dad chose to abstain from partaking of the old skunkweed and no longer believed in advocating for getting stoned.

So, he temporarily retired "Long Haired Country Boy" from his setlist but brought it back a few years later with some modifications. In the first verse, he altered the line to "I get up in the morning, I get down in the afternoon." And when it came to the final verse, the �toke� line transformed into "...but I will tell another joke."

While most people have been in the "It's his song, he can do what he wants" camp, some adamantly opposed the changes.�
But they missed the essence of the song entirely.

If you don�t like the fact that he wanted to change the lyrics, then you can leave the formerly long haired country boy alone.

It�s pretty simple; it�s right there in the rest of the song if you just pay attention.

In 1982, there was a reevaluation regarding our valiant soldiers who had served in Vietnam. Many of these heroes had been unfairly vilified by the media, as well as an ambitious Navy Lieutenant who returned and testified before the U.S. Senate, helping to reinforce the tarnished reputation of his comrades in arms as rapists and monsters.

During that time, my dad received a song from a talented songwriter named Dan Daley. The song beautifully depicted the struggles faced by Vietnam veterans, bravely battling PTSD and enduring allegations of war crimes, even within their own families.

Dad personally knew several Vietnam veterans, including Rick Rentz, the head of security for the CDB on the road. I wouldn't be surprised if Dad played the song for Rick while he contemplated recording the song.

The song struck a chord with Vietnam veterans and those from the Vietnam era. They were drawn to Dad, and over the years, he received countless POW/MIA bracelets�more than he could ever wear, although he proudly wore many of them. Meeting these veterans became a regular occurrence during the post-show meet and greets.

Controversy never bothered Dad that much, but this particular issue held great importance to him. Despite a small minority of despicable conduct within our military, the reputations of Vietnam veterans had been tarnished. Dad believed this song could help set things right, shedding light on the problems they faced�a long-overdue recognition.

Controversy would resurface a few years later when Dad released the song "Simple Man." While the tune resonated with much of the country music audience, weary of the epidemic of violent crime plaguing our nation, it also offended those who interpreted the lyrics as advocating vigilantism and lawlessness when dealing with rapists and drug dealers who preyed on children.

The best word I can find that fits is a Greek one that I learned from Pastor�Allen Jackson,

Baloney! It means I strongly disagree.

But seriously, folks�

"Simple Man" was more than just a song. It was a passionate call to take violent crime seriously�a plea for someone to step up and take a stand. If our officials were unwilling to do what needed to be done, then logic dictated that someone else should. Yet, deep down, nobody truly desired such a drastic turn of events.

Despite its powerful message, a few country radio stations refused to play the song. Consequently, it fell short of reaching the coveted top ten, although the album itself achieved platinum status�an impressive feat for a country record back in those days.

But what's truly staggering is how crime has escalated since then. Especially in 2020, right before Dad left us. Looking back now, 1989 almost feels like the peaceful 1950s. It's disheartening to witness the leniency of the "panty waist" judges and prosecutors who refuse to punish criminals.

It�s no wonder that "Simple Man" has experienced a resurgence in recent years. It consistently ranks among the top three most-streamed CDB songs, and views for the song�s music video on YouTube have skyrocketed. The song's relevance has stood the test of time.

Following the 9/11 attacks, Dad fearlessly leaped into the fire. He recorded two songs�one in 2001 and another in 2002�inspired by the tragic events. Additionally, he released a live version of "In America," altering the lyrics to refer to "our enemies" instead of Russians, although you could easily change it back now.

The first song, "This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag," stood as a defiant patriotic anthem. It ruffled some feathers, particularly with the line "We don't wear it on our heads." Certain groups, particularly Sikhs who wore turbans, expressed their offense.

Dad remained unwavering and clarified that unless you were responsible for flying planes into buildings on September 11, 2001, the song wasn't about you. It struck a nerve with country audiences when it was recorded and released in early October, earning Dad a charting song on the radio for the first time in several years.

However, everything changed when�Alan Jackson�performed "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" in early November at the CMA Awards. This somber and reflective song became the tone embraced by radio, overshadowing the anger expressed in "This Ain't No Rag..."

The CDB's other controversial post-9/11 song was "The Last Fallen Hero," written and recorded in 2002. It referred to the 9/11 hijackers as "the devil and his angels," pledging that America would do whatever it took to win the fight until the last fallen hero found peace.

PBS approached the CDB to be part of their annual "A Capitol 4th" special live from Washington, D.C. From what I recall, Barry Bostwick hosted and performed in what was typically a patriotic extravaganza. Dad wanted to perform "The Last Fallen Hero," but the show's producers deemed its tone didn�t fit for what essentially amounted to a red, white, and blue pep rally.

Since the producers refused to let Dad pay tribute to the lives lost on 9/11 on the first 4th of July following that tragic day, Dad pulled out of the show. However, the story doesn't end there. The Nashville PBS affiliate caught wind of the situation and invited Dad to perform the song in their studio, airing it before the special. Several other PBS affiliates across the country followed suit.

The last musical controversy I recall was only controversial to a small but vocal minority. In "Let 'em Win, or Bring 'em Home," Dad paid tribute to our servicemen and women, honoring those who had made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and their families. It served as a plea to politicians to step aside and let these soldiers do the jobs they were trained for or bring them back home.

The final verse took a direct shot at the Westboro Baptist Church, notorious for protesting the funerals of our fallen military heroes. Somehow, they claimed that the country's softening stance on homosexuality was the cause of these brave soldiers' deaths.�

I feel the need to insert that Greek word again�

How anyone could make a cause-and-effect out of that is baffling to me.

Whether you believe in the traditional view of marriage, as I do, or embrace the notion that there are 1,700 genders, there's an undeniable truth that this alleged church with their "GOD HATES FAGS" signs tragically overlooks: God loves us, plain and simple. He may detest the choices we make, certain aspects of our lives, or even our lifestyles, but His love for His children is unwavering. He yearns for us to find our way back to Him, when we stray.
Dad fearlessly called them out for their absurdity.

Being the patriotic soul he was, Dad had simply had enough of their antics. He decided to include a line in �Let �em Win, or Bring �em Home,� highlighting that the "church" was unworthy even to untie our soldiers' bootlaces. Naturally, they jumped into attack mode, as they were prone to do.

They posted protest schedules for some of the CDB shows, though it appeared that they rarely attended. I did hear about one bitter cold show in Kansas where a couple of individuals, clutching their signs, futilely chased after the departing band bus; I don�t remember any other sightings.

But their actions reached a new low when they released a "parody" of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." In this repulsive rendition, they placed Dad on the devil's side instead of opposing him and proceeded to spew an abominable outlook for Dad�s afterlife. It was an appallingly disgusting display of hatred.

Nevertheless, with Dad's unwavering love for God, his dedication to his country, and his profound affection for his family, friends and fans, I'm confident that his final abode boasts exceptional air conditioning.

The final controversies I can recall would likely require an extensive analysis, more than I can squeeze in here.�

In 2000, Dad embarked on what he called his "Soapbox" series�a term forever entwined with his legacy, which I am committed to keeping alive.

Through his soapboxes, he tackled an array of subjects, ranging from shopping adventures with Mom, SEC football, the changing of seasons and numerous other topics. However, most of the time, his soapboxes delved into topical issues, taking on figures like Bill Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Michael Moore, Barack Obama, and Adam Schiff, and addressed hot-button topics such as 9/11, the War on Terror, and much more.

In 2001, he wrote a soapbox advocating for political figures with the courage to speak the unadulterated truth to the American public, regardless of how unpopular those opinions might be. He covered topics from the health risks of smoking to the need to control illegal immigration and the belief that homosexuality is not the norm.

Naturally, this rubbed some people the wrong way. When Dad was being honored with a star on the Walk of Fame in his hometown of Wilmington, NC, there were murmurs of protests. While there may have been a few individuals displaying signs in the crowd, from what I recall, the ceremony proceeded without any disruption or shouting matches.

The most significant shift between 2001 and a few years later was that back then, you could still hold differing opinions without being ruthlessly beaten down for them. But around 2002, that began to change. Anonymous online trolls discovered the power to hurl the vilest remarks with impunity, hiding behind computer screens.

Dad had his opinions, and he had every right to voice them. Likewise, others with differing viewpoints had the same right; we can agree to disagree.

However, at some point, it seemed that the left became intolerant of any opinion that didn't align with their own. If you dared to deviate, you were instantly branded an evil, misogynistic, racist bigot, rendering your perspective inconsequential.

It's bully censorship. Nobody wants to be labeled a racist, so when that card is automatically played, many people choose to back down, fearing the tarnishing of their reputation.

Following the tragic murder of a black church group in South Carolina, a backlash ensued against anything associated with the South's history, given that the perpetrator had posed for a picture with a Confederate battle flag.�

Dad, the proud Southern boy he was, tried to clarify his stance on the flag, emphasizing that in his mind, and for countless others, it symbolized Southern pride rather than racism. For those who truly knew Dad, it was evident that he harbored not a single racist bone in his body. Growing up in the Jim Crow South, he quickly learned the difference between right and wrong, even if it wasn't immediately evident when he was young.

That�s about all I can fit into this Soapbox Jr., but there were plenty of others; maybe I�ll do a Part III at some point.

Despite the controversies, Dad remained steadfast in his beliefs, unyielding to the pressure of public opinion. He held true to his values, defending what he believed in and facing the world with unwavering courage. And that's precisely why his legacy endures�a beacon of truth, resilience, and unwavering conviction.

That�s one of the millions of things I loved about him, and why I keep doing what I can to keep his legacy and his message alive for future generations, and I will hold steadfast to that mission.�

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22
�

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

The Controversial Charlie Daniels Part I - Soapbox, Jr.

This will be a bit of a departure for me; I thought I�d take a different approach for this particular series of soapboxes.

Dad was beloved by many, but not everyone. His in-your-face patriotism, his political views, and the fact that he became much more conservative from the 1980s onward tended to rub some folks the wrong way, especially a few people who love to hide anonymously behind their computer screens or phones and attack him because he made the unpardonable sin of having an opinion that they disagreed with.

But even before Dad started writing his political �Soapboxes� - as he called them, and I am continuing to follow his lead � and taking to Twitter to express his opinions, his career was still fraught with controversy at times.

If you get right down to it, Dad�s entrance full-time into the music business was because of a controversial situation. He left a good-paying job at a creosote plant so that a black man named Louis Frost could keep his job. Louis did his job much better than Dad and knew much more about the business than Dad ever would, so my grandfather � who had gotten Dad the job - backed his decision to step down and let Mr. Frost keep his job, which he would retire from many years later, and Dad went on to play music for a living.

Dad�s beginnings in the Nashville music scene was controversial because, after almost a decade of playing rock & roll cover tunes in nightclubs across the country, Dad�s sound didn�t fit the smooth �Nashville Sound� that dominated the studios in the 60s and early 70s.

Had it not been for another couple of controversial figures - Bob Johnston and Bob Dylan � Dad might not have gotten where he did later in his career.

But as an actual recording artist, one of his first controversies started in 1973 with the release of his first top-ten single, �Uneasy Rider.�

�Uneasy Rider� borrowed its title from the Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper biker film, �Easy Rider,� as a duo of hippie bikers rode through the Southern states to New Orleans and ended up in conflict with some locals.

While Dad was with The Youngbloods at a music festival in Louisiana, some of the band�s members were a bit on edge about being in the South because of the movie, which Dad found humorous because he grew up in the South.

So, he turned that into a talking blues number which went to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. But the song�s controversy doesn�t stop there.

For one thing, the character telling the story � also nervous about being in the South � starts trying to turn some bar locals against each other to try to protect himself by kicking a �fella with green teeth� and accusing him of being a communist and says that he�s �a friend of them long-haired hippie-type pinko fags.�

That line has become much more controversial in recent years; however, the song�s protagonist also says that while he was chasing the locals around the parking lot, he says, �I had �em all out there steppin�-and-fetchin like their heads was on fire and their asses was catchin�� which resulted in the original single version bleeping out the word �asses.�

Speaking of Louisiana, controversy bug resurfaced there when a song suggested by then-producer Paul Hornsby, originally called �The South�s Gonna Do It� � the title later evolved into �The South�s Gonna Do It (Again)� - was being used by none other than the Ku Klux Klan.

The Louisiana Klan was using the song in radio commercials for a KKK rally, much to the disgust of Dad and the CDB management team at Sound Seventy Productions/CDB, Inc.

Dad spoke out publicly against them in Billboard Magazine in 1975. He said, �I�m damn proud of the South, but I sure as hell am not proud of the Ku Klux Klan. I wrote the song about the land I love and my brothers. It was not written to promote hate groups.�

The Klan backed off using the song, and thankfully no legal action was necessary.

�The Devil Went Down to Georgia� was obviously controversial because of the album version of the song�s final verse, which says, �I done told you once you S.O.B., I�m the best there�s ever been,� something that most radio formats outside of AOR � Album Oriented Rock � wouldn�t play.

In this case, Dad and his producer, John Boylan, anticipated the controversy and dealt with upfront, and it paid off.

The solution made the song a bona fide hit across multiple radio formats. Contrary to popular belief, the �Son-of-a-gun� and �S.O.B� versions were recorded on the same day, with the �Son-of-a-gun� version being the single which went #1 Country and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

But here�s one you probably don�t know, there was a rift between Dad and Hank Williams, Jr. back in 1984.

It began in Cookeville, TN, on Sept. 22 at Tennessee Tech University at a concert that was part of the Charlie Daniels Day IV celebration, sponsored by the Mt. Juliet Kiwanis Club.

Charlie Daniels Day was Mt. Juliet, TN�s way of honoring their favorite adopted son, and this year they expanded into a large-scale concert in Cookeville, about 70 miles from Mt. Juliet.

Hank was one of the opening acts and was set to go on from 8:10 PM to 9:40 PM, meaning he was the lead-in act for the CDB, which was supposed to take the stage at 10:10 PM. That would give them until midnight at the absolute latest because it was a weekday, so there was a strict cut-off time.

Hank took the stage and played his set; then he played into the set change time, and then he played into the CDB�s scheduled start time.

At 10:15, which was five minutes after the CDB was scheduled to take the stage, the CDB crew tried to signal to Hank to wrap things up, but he ignored the signals, and continued to perform for another twenty minutes.

If I remember correctly, Hank�s band had already left the stage, and it was just him and his guitar. Finally, the CDB had no choice; they pulled the plug on Hank.

While you may say, �But he�s Hank�� and I get that, but Dad was headlining the show, which was meant to be a homecoming concert for him and the CDB, and because they had to finish up at midnight, the people that were there to see dad got a highly abbreviated CDB set, with dad cutting over 30 minutes of music so they could finish up by the strict midnight cut off time.

It was a huge mess.�

I already knew the CDB�s side of the story, but years later, I met a friend at UT Knoxville who was at the show. He was a couple of years behind me, so I didn�t know him at the time of the incident, but he had gone to the show to see Dad. Years later, when I met him, he told me that because it was a school night, he had to leave before 11 and did not get to see Dad perform at all.

The event made its way into the media and was even fodder for jokes by Johnny Carson on �The Tonight Show.�

The media�s reporting on the incident seemed to be that The Charlie Daniels Band pulled the plug on Hank Williams Jr., who was just out there having a good time entertaining his crowd but leaving out the part that it wasn�t completely his crowd.�

Dad even said how amateurish and unprofessional it was of Hank at a press conference shortly after the incident.

This is all water under the bridge now, and Dad and Hank worked together many more times over the years and let bygones be bygones, so why am I addressing it now?

Well, thanks to the monster that is TikTok, someone recently shared an interview that David Allen Coe did�with Hank many years ago where he addressed the incident. Not surprisingly, it was highly slanted against Dad, implying that Hank really didn�t do anything wrong and that Dad�s camp got their panties in a wad over Hank just being Hank and put the blame squarely on the CDB. The interview was probably almost 40 years ago, and I imagine � at least I hope � that Hank�s feelings on the incident might have changed over the years, but the only real reason I can think of that someone resurrected the interview with no real context or research as to what actually happened, is most likely an attempt to tarnish dad�s memory.

I refuse to let that happen, ever.

We�ll have more controversies next time.

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

A Tale of Two Books - Soapbox Jr.

Thurman Mullins is the ranch manager for Twin Pines Ranch. He told me he had a book for me, one that he had almost dropped in the trash.

It turns out that he had given a photograph of Dad to the writer several years ago and had actually forgotten about it. Then he received a comp copy in the mail and was highly disappointed when he looked at the chapter about Dad.

First of all, I will not be naming the book or the author. I don�t want to give the book any promotion whatsoever, but I will talk a little bit about it.

It starts off nicely enough; as a young reporter, the author was denied passes from the CDB�s management company and concert promoter Sound Seventy Productions for a CDB show in Clarksville.

He was disappointed and was just kind of moping around near the venue when Dad spotted him. Dad ended up taking him backstage and hooking him up with passes.

What a nice anecdote with a happy ending; it leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

If he had left it there, then all would be well, but the author � scratch that � writer, lets his politics get in the way from that point on and preferred to take shots at Dad after that initial happy little tale.

He insinuated that Southern pride was pure racism, and he criticized the last few Volunteer Jams for people who brought Confederate battle flags or had them tattooed on their arms. I guess he missed the sixteen Jams from the 70s through the 90s when that wasn�t considered so controversial.

Dad wrote about his feelings on the battle flag � no, it was not the official flag of the Confederate States of America, but rather a flag carried into battle by rebel soldiers, the overwhelming majority of which never owned slaves � in a soapbox in 2016.

For him, it was always about Southern pride and never about longing for the days of slavery again. Dad�s stance is something that most Southerners stand behind.

A perfect example of this comes from Dad�s ranch. For many years, Dad employed a cowboy named Leroy Crawford who was the best ranch hand Twin Pines ever had. Several of his sons also were hard working cowboys on the ranch over the years as well.�

Leroy was born in Mississippi and was one hell of a team roper. He did so well in team roping competitions that he won a belt buckle at the Dixie Nationals, and he wore it proudly.

The buckle had the Confederate battle flag on it. Anytime anyone would question his choice to wear the buckle, he always answered, �I�m a Southerner.�

Did I forget to mention that Leroy was black?

He understood the meaning - Southern pride - and was able to divorce the association with the Confederacy.

I�m not saying that racism doesn�t exist, and Dad never asserted that either. Dad wrote about growing up in the Jim Crow South and rising above prejudices that surrounded him, which included leaving his job at a creosote plant so that a black man named Louis Frost could keep his job.�

Dad felt it was the right thing to do, Dad left to pursue music, and Louis eventually retired from the creosote plant.

So, I will go toe to toe against anyone who dares call Dad a racist. It just isn�t true.

But back to the trashcan-bound book�

The writer apparently holds a grudge because Dad became more conservative and reconnected with his faith. According to him, that made him a walking contradiction because he no longer wished to sing about getting high.

�Long Haired Country Boy� was released in 1974. Many people mature over the years and refocus their lives on what is truly important; God, family and country.

Then there are those that are stuck in the past.

He also goes on to say that �he heard� that Dad found religion when he fell off a horse.

That�s the biggest bunch of horse manure I�ve ever heard.

I could play that game too if I wanted to. I could say that �I heard� that the writer had relations with farm animals. No need for proof, just put out non-factual possibilities without the ability to back it up.

Again� pure horse manure.

First of all, Dad never fell off of any horse, he was an excellent rider when he was in his prime, and Dad had always been a Christian. He grew closer to Jesus in the mid-1980s, and made Him the priority of his life.

The writer also attributes a lot of alleged quotes to Dad, again, without any proof.

So, if you do stumble on the book, read it with a shaker of salt, and please don�t post the name of the writer or the book in replies to this soapbox, please.

I can, however, recommend another book that no only mentions dad, but it quotes him as well.

William Lee Golden from The Oak Ridge Boys begins a chapter in his book �Behind the Beard� called �Making Amends,� in which he quotes dad, �Forgiveness is as healing for us as it is for the one we forgive.��

That quote was originally followed by �Let�s all make the day count.� and it was one of his daily words of wisdom he tweeted every day.

�Making Amends� is a fitting title for the chapter, because William Lee pulls no punches about his life, and the mistakes he�s made. Just like Dad did, William Lee moved on from his old life and he�s walking a straighter and narrower path these days, but is candid about his earlier years.

I highly recommend William Lee�s book over the other one. Golden has no agenda � something the other book can�t say - other than telling his story, warts and all.

Here�s a funny story about William Lee as I wrap this up.

After the 2022 Country Music Hall of Fame medallion ceremony, I went to The Palm. I saw a man with a long white beard and a cowboy hat, but because a few hours earlier, during the profile of Keith Whitley, they showed Keith�s brother, who had a similar look as William Lee.

I asked if he was Keith�s brother, only to be embarrassed when I realized it was William Lee after all.

I didn�t remember seeing him when the members walked in, so it didn�t cross my mind.

William Lee and his table were good spirits about it, in fact, he bought our dinner, much to our surprise.

About a week after Thurman delivered the book he planned to throw in the trash, he texted me that he left another book that I would probably like much better, it was a copy of William Lee�s book, autographed to me,�

�Charlie Jr.�

Thanks for the years of friendship � See you at The Palm Restaurant.

Best Wishes Always

William Lee Golden 2023�

Thank you, Mr. Golden. I appreciate it, and thank you, Thurman, for inspiring this soapbox, and yes, I plagiarized a few details from you.�

Much obliged.

Charlie Daniels, Jr.

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

Keeping Charlie's Legacy Alive - Soapbox, Jr.

I�ve been working on something pretty special that I�m just about finished with, and it�s all about dad�s legacy.

�Keeping Charlie�s Legacy Alive� is a daily mantra around here. His legacy is obviously his music, but it�s also about his patriotism and his faith, so I had some thoughts to share regarding that legacy.

First of all, nothing gets under my skin more than when some ridiculous list pops up about one-hit wonders, and the CDB is on that list with songs like �Tubthumping� and �Mambo No. 5.�

Dad had a top ten pop single as a solo artist, and the CDB had a gold record years before �The Devil Went Down to Georgia.� That song catapulted the band to the next level, but dad�s success was not just on the Billboard Hot 100. The band was riding the wave of southern rock bands on AOR stations which didn�t have much crossover to pop radio at the time.

Most likely, it was written by some millennial copywriter who was handed an idea from an editor and wrote the list with the help of Google.

The CDB had songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Country Singles chart throughout the 80s, including a top ten single with �Drinkin� My Baby Goodbye� in 1986 and one that could have gone top ten, �Simple Man,� if its controversial nature hadn�t frightened a handful of country program directors. Instead, it topped out at #13, but it produced a gold record. At the time, a gold record for an album without a top 5 single in country was a rarity.

This �one-hit wonder� has sold over twenty-five million albums including three platinum albums, one double platinum, one triple platinum, and even a quadruple platinum album which might be close to five times platinum now. Not to mention the soundtrack for Urban Cowboy which sold over three million copies and �Coyote Ugly� which sold over four million, and his music has been streamed over one BILLION times.

One hit wonder, indeed�

�Still in Saigon� only got as high as #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 but topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart at #2.

But �Still in Saigon� ended up being a landmark song for dad in a much more significant way.

I wrote about this in the �Windows� breakdown; the song resonated so strongly with Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans. Veterans groups embraced the song and its powerful depiction of a Vietnam vet struggling with PTSD.

But what I didn�t write about earlier is where this connection with vets would take him, inside the walls of Attica Correctional Facility in New York, a maximum security prison.

The prison commissioner invited dad and the CDB to perform there on the strength of �Still in Saigon� as almost three-hundred Vietnam and Vietnam-era vets were incarcerated there.

Because it was in the summer of 1982, I was out of school and on tour with dad, so I went along with the band and crew inside the facility. It was an uneasy feeling being there. Almost eleven years had passed since the infamous riot in 1971, which resulted in forty-three deaths of prisoners, civilian employees and correctional officers. Our guides pointed out where some of the major incidents took place and where bullets scarred the inside walls which were never repaired, possibly as a reminder for those who might have notions of repeating history.

The performance occurred outdoors in the yard as opposed to Johnny Cash�s Folsom Prison and San Quentin shows which were indoors.

The band brought their guitars, but I�m not sure if Freddie and Jim Marshall brought drum kits, but I remember the prison brought out an old upright piano for Taz to play, and if my memory serves, several keys were missing.�

I�m sure Taz improvised as best he could.

It was a sobering moment overall, being in the middle of a bunch of hardened criminals, and I was glad to be out of there. Still, it was a moment that I would never forget, and I hope that at least some of the audience was able to get on a better path when � or if � they were released.

But over the years, dad was given metal M.I.A. bracelets -several of which I know he wore for many years � when veterans came to CDB meet and greets after the shows.�

Dad always felt a debt of gratitude for our men and women who served or were still serving, and over the years, he performed at military bases at Guantanamo Bay, South Korea, and others in the 1980s and 1990s.

Then after the 9/11 attacks, he did several tours to bases in the Middle East, including Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, and several other �stan� countries.

I believe his age, his 2010 stroke and some heart-related issues kept him from going back to perform for the troops again, but he started to focus on needs stateside for veterans, including a scholarship at Lipscomb University for their Yellow Ribbon Campaign and partnered with Gibson Guitars and some other musical instrument companies for Operation: Heartstrings to provide instruments for those musically-inclined military forces who were serving in the Middle East.

Those initiatives gave birth to The Journey Home Project, which was rebranded The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project after his passing in 2020 and is still going strong - as of this writing - with no signs of slowing down.

The veterans work came from an understanding of dad�s that I have shared previously, �I learned at an early age that only two things protect America, the grace of Almighty God and the United States Military.�

He paid gratitude to those who served, are still serving, and those that made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and to the Gold Star families. That compassion was born out of the faith in the second part of his quote, �Almighty God.�

Dad wrote about his faith in �Never Look at the Empty Seats,� and he said it was the hardest chapter for him to write because he wanted to lay out his faith to someone who might be struggling with belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and he wanted to put it as plainly and easy to understand as possible but still trying to be as persuasive as it is crucial for all of us to think long and hard about where they will eventually spend eternity.

Dad grew up in church, so he was always a believer, but his schedule didn�t always allow him to attend regularly, and when I was growing up, we went to a few different churches here and there but never really found a church home.

While I was attending the University of Tennessee Knoxville in the 1980s, dad rededicated his life to Christ and made several changes in his life that reflected that.

Some longtime fans jeered when dad changed the words to �Long Haired Country Boy� in the late 80s, but most fans recognized that it was dad�s song and he could do whatever he wanted to with it.�

He�s not the only one to do this; The Rolling Stones stopped performing �Brown Sugar� because they no longer felt comfortable with some of the lyrics, and Dire Straits� �Money For Nothing� has had the word �faggot� muted out of the song on a version heard on at least some radio stations.�

What�s funny is that the Nashville rock station which plays the edited version of �Money For Nothing,� also plays an unedited version of �Uneasy Rider,� which includes the line, �He�s a friend of them long haired hippie type pinko fags,� which is a bit of a head-scratcher.

But dad�s faith continued to be strong, and he was able to share that faith musically with the Sparrow Records releases, �The Door,� �Steel Witness� and �How Sweet the Sound� as well as the Blue Hat Bluegrass Gospel album, �Songs From the Longleaf Pines. He also spoke about his faith on The 700 Club and almost always included a Gospel song in his stage set.

His renewed faith eventually trickled down to me. I was brought up to believe in Jesus, but I hadn�t read The Bible from cover to cover and didn�t really know what I believed for a long time, or rather I didn�t have a solid core of belief. I had questions, many of which won�t be answered until I join dad in the hereafter, but I�m more content in my not knowing.

One of the best things I ever did for my faith was reading �The Case for Christ� by former atheist Lee Strobel. Lee approached the questions of Jesus and His life, teachings, death and resurrection with the same techniques that he used when he was an investigative reporter and later legal affairs editor for The Chicago Tribune.

In his book, Lee retraces his own spiritual journey ten years after his original conversion when his formerly-agnostic wife unexpectedly announced she had become a Christian.

Through Lee�s original investigation, in light of all the evidence he collected, he concluded that it would take more faith for him to remain an atheist than it would for him to become a Christian.

Lee became one of my spiritual heroes, along with my spiritual big brother Bill Wolfenbarger - whom I have quoted multiple times over the years, and � of course � my dad.

I remember telling dad about all the remarkable evidence in Lee�s book. And yes, I�m aware that we�re supposed to have unwavering faith without seeing proof, but as under attack as Christianity is from popular culture, government officials, and such, it�s comforting to know that our faith is built on a solid foundation of evidence.

I met Lee at our church, World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, and dad met him at a Christian men�s conference in Birmingham, AL in 2018.

It made me happy that Lee and dad got to meet.

Carrying dad�s legacy hasn�t been easy. It�s time-consuming, and I�m busier than I�ve ever been, but it�s essential to keep his causes and his message alive in addition to his music.

His prayers will still get posted and tweeted every Sunday, his daily tweets will still be tweeted out every day, and we�re working on some exciting new prospects that have presented themselves recently.

I can�t wait to share these opportunities once they come to fruition, and I have faith that they will.

Sadly, he isn�t here to see some of his unrealized dreams come to life, but I know he�s watching from the best seat in the house.

I love you, dad, and It�s an honor to keep your legacy alive.

Love,�

Little Charlie

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

How Charlie Daniels Saved the Life of a Rock Star - Soapbox Jr.

"Stopping to give someone a�helping hand�is not time wasted but time invested. Let�s all make the day count." - Charlie Daniels

Dad was a caring man; dad was a man of faith, and dad was a very humble man.

In his memoir, �Never Look at the Empty Seats,� � now in paperback HERE�- dad talks about a lot of people he�s met and many aspects of his life. Still, there�s one that he fails to mention, and it�s a story you most likely would not know about unless you subscribed to �The Charlie Daniels Podcast," you can check that episode out HERE

It�s a very significant moment in his life, but his integrity and humble nature would have kept him from telling this story to the masses, at least not in the way that it was put to me by the individual at the center of it.

According to Brad Arnold, frontman for the band 3 Doors Down, dad saved his life.

No, dad didn�t save him from drowning or pull him from a burning building; he helped initiate a process that would keep Brad from going down a road that has killed many recording artists, particularly in the rock music world.

First, a little backstory on Brad and 3 Doors Down, in case you aren�t familiar with them.

Brad grew up in Escatawpa, Mississippi, the youngest of seven kids, and he began listening to the CDB because his two older brothers were big fans, so he was exposed to dad�s music at an early age.

As he got older, he would revisit dad�s catalog and have a new appreciation for the music of the era, and especially the music of �Mr. Charlie,� as Brad still calls him.

Brad and some of his high school buddies formed 3 Doors Down in 1996, with Brad initially playing drums. They needed a lead singer, so Brad stepped up to handle vocals as well.

They started playing Mississippi bars regularly, even as they were too young to be in them.

Brad wrote his first song, �Kryptonite,� in math class in high school. I�m not sure how well he did in the class, but it seems like it worked out for him in the end.

The band recorded an EP simply titled �3 Doors Down� in 1998. Brad and the band took a CD to a local rock radio station that started playing �Kryptonite.� In fact, it was the number one most requested song for fifteen straight weeks. They were creating a buzz, and their popularity was growing.�

They began playing gigs outside of Mississippi and even performed a showcase at the legendary CBGB in New York, where they signed with a manager who would be instrumental in getting them signed to Republic Records.

All from that original EP.

In 2000, 3 Doors Down exploded onto the alternative rock music scene.

Their first album, �The Better Life,� has sold over six million copies to date. The band�s success continued with their second album, �Away from the Sun,� which achieved platinum status just two months after being released, and more hit albums were to follow.

The band toured heavily from 2000 to 2013, but right in the middle of that, someone from Brad�s camp reached out to dad�s camp about trying to arrange a meeting and a possible writing session together.

On May 30, 2006, dad and Brad spent a big part of the day together writing and talking at Twin Pines Studio, writing at least a good part of a song together that - as of this writing - the band hasn�t recorded yet, but it was a dream come true for Brad. His love of dad�s music was a major influence on him and dad was one of his musical heroes.

He may make his living playing alternative rock music, but he�s a good ol� southern boy at heart.

The two stayed in touch and crossed paths from time to time while performing.

As happens all too often, the excesses of the rock star life began to take their toll on Brad and his health, both physically and mentally, and he appeared to be heading down the same path that took many talented people before their time; artists like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and many others.

Brad�s alcoholism was taking him to a dark place, and everyone he knew was telling him that he needed to get into rehab for treatment, but he wouldn�t listen.

Deep inside, he knew it too, but pride kept him from accepting it. In his words, �nobody wants to hear how they need to change.�

His rock bottom moment came in Japan back in early 2016. 3 Doors Down was performing for U.S. military bases. The darkness was setting in, and Brad just felt he needed to talk to somebody. He couldn�t get any of his friends or family on the phone, so he decided to try a FaceTime video call with dad, who answered, and they talked for close to 45 minutes.

Brad told him what he was feeling; dad listened to everything he said and offered up a solution, one that he had heard from many of his loved ones - but it was a solution that Brad repeatedly pushed back on - he needed to get into rehab. Dad told him that if you love your wife and your life and you really want to quit, then do it.

Dad got through to Brad, and he finally came to the realization that rehab was what he needed.�

Sometimes it takes one of your heroes to get through to you when others fail.

Brad entered rehab when he returned from Japan, got clean, and never looked back.�

Later in 2016, Brad and 3 Doors Down were part of the Charlie Daniels 80^th�Birthday Volunteer Jam at Bridgestone Arena on November 30. I was there, and they put on a fantastic show.

On January 24, 2023, Brad announced his seventh year of sobriety on his social media accounts.

From dad�s social media accounts, I shared this message to Brad, �Congratulations to Brad Arnold from 3 Doors Down on SEVEN years of sobriety. I know of one of the �great cloud of witnesses� above who is actively cheering you on and rejoicing at your achievement. Praise the Lord, and congratulations, my brother!��- CD, Jr."

Brad and 3DD continue to perform, and maybe he�ll get around to finishing the song he and dad wrote, and the band also recorded a smokin� hot version of �In America� that they performed live for a whole tour; hopefully, that will see the light of day as well.

I had a great time talking with Brad and learning the full story of dad's impact on his life.

One person can make a difference, and it makes me very proud that dad helped keep Brad from becoming another casualty of rock n� roll.

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

How Russell, Bob and Bob Changed Dad’s Life - Soapbox Jr.

�Opportunity knocks but once, softly, and then moves on swiftly, attune your heart to her call, your ear to her knock, open the door and be blessed. Let�s all make the day count.� � Charlie Daniels

Sage advice from a wise man.

And he knew what he was talking about because it had happened to him on multiple occasions in his lifetime, but I�m going to focus on three pivotal individuals who opened the door for opportunities.�

They are Russell Palmer, Bob Johnston and Bob Dylan, and without any one of these three individuals, dad�s life would have looked much, much differently.

Dad and Russell were childhood friends having grown up together in North Carolina - that is - when dad wasn�t living in Georgia.�

My grandfather was one of the best in the longleaf pine timber business, but circumstances would occasionally require that he change jobs and move around from time to time.

My grandfather had hopes that dad would get a good job in the timber business as he did, and had it not been for dad�s friendship with Russell, that might have been exactly what happened.

Even with the moving around, dad and my grandparents spent many years in Gulf, NC, and he and Russell graduated one year apart from Goldston High School classes of 1955 and 1956 respectively.

While in their teens, Russell got a beat-up old Stella guitar, and dad was fascinated by it. Russell taught him a few chords, �about two and a half chords� as dad would put it, and Russell let him borrow the guitar and dad became obsessed with it.

He later learned other stringed instruments, including the mandolin which would be a stepping stone to what he would be best known for, the fiddle because the fingering was the same for both instruments.

Dad and Russell and some other friends formed The Misty Mountain Boys, a name derived from their heroes Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt who left Bill Monroe to form The Foggy Mountain Boys.

Years later, dad was playing regularly around town, but also working in a creosote plant in a job that my grandfather, Carlton, had helped him get.

In 1958, the plant he was working at was forced to start laying workers off, but his job wasn�t on the line, instead, a black co-worker named Louis Frost�s job was on the chopping block, in a move that dad said was strictly about race, because Louis was much more knowledgeable about the job than he was, and dad�s heart was in his music and not in creosote.

He argued to be laid off instead of Louis because he was making a living making music, and that�s what he wanted to pursue.

My grandfather lobbied that Louis should be paid the same way that dad was � which wasn�t customary at the plant in that day � but Grandpa Carlton staked his job on Louis� performance, and it paid off to the point that Louis worked there until he retired, and dad and my grandfather were pleased that the company did the right thing for him.

But had Russell not shown dad that guitar, dad might have been the one to retire from that creosote plant, and not Louis.

Just about a year later, dad had been touring in Texas with a band he called The Rockets when he met Don, later Bob, Johnston. Bob was a struggling producer and songwriter whose mother was a songwriter who had songs recorded by Bob Wills and Gene Autry.

Don/Bob was extremely enthusiastic, and his enthusiasm was infectious. He asked if dad�s and his band wanted to record something in the studio, but dad explained they didn�t have anything. Undeterred, Johnston suggested they write something for dad�s band to record, so they wrote an instrumental which had echoes of a sped-up �Peter Gunn Theme� with a really nasty-sounding saxophone part throughout and called it �Jaguar.�

While it didn�t make the band huge stars, it did do well on jukeboxes and had some regional radio success, but it was the beginning of a friendship that would pay dividends.

First, when a song that Bob and dad wrote called �It Hurts Me� which had been recorded in 1963, then a year later, the biggest star in the world, Elvis Presley, recorded it. Due to some contract complications, Bob put the song in his wife�s name, Joy Byers.

Dad said that Bob�s work ethic and approach to songwriting would become ingrained into him. Bob wouldn�t just let something mediocre fly, he wanted greatness, and would demand nothing less from anyone he co-wrote with.

And secondly, when just a few years later, Johnston � he was going by Bob full time now - was one of the hottest producers in the music business and was producing everyone from Johnny Cash, to Marty Robbins, Simon & Garfunkel, Burl Ives and one other act that would have another huge impact on his life.

In 1967, dad was still playing the club circuits working his butt off to provide for little ole me and my mom, and Bob had been promoted to head of A&R in Nashville�s Columbia Records office.

We were living in Newport, KY, just across the river from Cincinnati, OH when dad got a call from him asking him if he wanted to move to Nashville to give it a shot instead of clubbing it indefinitely.

With a two-year-old child, a $20 bill and a car with the clutch out on it, dad moved us to Nashville.

Had it not been for that meeting in Ft. Worth in 1959, that door to Nashville would not have been even slightly cracked open, and any attempt to enter the tight-knit Nashville music community would have been done the old-fashioned way, by going door-to-door and asking for someone to give him a shot, and many a talented individual has played that game before, and lost.�

So, just as I said with regard to Russell Palmer, had it not been for an enthusiastic and eccentric recording genius, dad�s path would have looked quite different.

He might have made it to Nashville - eventually - but there�s no guarantee that anyone would have opened a door for him.

Bob�s friendship opened the door to potential work in Nashville and that would in turn open the door to some much-needed validation which would come in the form of another act that Bob had produced with much success and acclaim, Bob Dylan.

Johnston had produced most of the tracks on �Highway 61 Revisited�, �Blonde on Blonde,� and �John Wesley Harding,� and was gearing up for Dylan�s next album - his second to be recorded in Nashville � called �Nashville Skyline.�

All was not rosy for dad in Music City, his many years of playing rock & roll covers in nightclubs resulted in a style that didn�t really "gel" with what was happening in country music, the smooth, non-twangy �Nashville Sound� that had dominated most of the sixties and would extend on into the seventies as well.

Dad�s style was louder than what most producers and artists were looking for, and therefore, session work was slim.

Dad was still having to work nightclubs just to pay the bills, and to provide a decent Christmas for mom and me, he did jam sessions on the side in order to buy a bowling ball for mom and an electric train set for me.

Dad�s frustration was growing. He knew he had something to offer, but it was like beating his head against a wall.

Near our house that we rented from Bob Johnston in Donelson was a hill that provided a clear view of Nashville�s skyline, and dad would go up there and shake his fist in the air at Music City saying �You will not beat me!� But the lack of work was wearing on him, and it had to be a very uncertain time for him, he must have questioned many of his moves. Should he have stayed in North Carolina, should he have up and moved his family to Nashville?

There had to be doubts in his mind, lots of them.

Back to Dylan, when he came on the music scene, his powerful lyrics, delivered by an obviously limited, but honest vocal style brought much admiration from fans both in and out of the music business, and that went for dad as well.

He had been captivated by the lyrical genius that is Bob Dylan. In more recent interviews, even Dylan will tell you he�s not sure where some of his most poignant lyrics came from.

But dad was a huge fan, and when he heard that Dylan was coming back to do another album, dad begged Bob Johnston to put him on one of the sessions, just one. He just wanted to be there among one of the greatest living songwriters, and one whose music had a huge impact on popular culture in the sixties.

As it turned out, there was an opportunity for dad after all. Wayne Moss � who had played guitar on �John Wesley Harding� � couldn�t make the very first scheduled session for �Nashville Skyline,� which began at 6 PM, so dad was put on the session with the total understanding that after a single three-hour session, Wayne � who would later form the band Barefoot Jerry � would be in for all subsequent sessions.

Dad jumped at the opportunity.

As the session began, he was mesmerized being in the presence of a true wordsmith, and he hung on every word that came out of Dylan�s mouth for three hours.

All good things must come to an end, and so did the first session of �Nashville Skyline.� Dad was packing up his guitar and gear because he had a gig across town later that evening at a nightclub called The Houndstooth.

As he was packing up, Dylan asked Johnston, �Where�s Charlie going?� Johnston replied, he�s leaving, and we have another guitar player coming in for the next session.

As dad would repeat many times over his career, Bob Dylan would say nine words that would affect his life from that moment on, �I don�t want another guitar player, I want him.�

It was a much-needed shot of encouragement and confidence because � as dad put it � �the poet of his generation liked his guitar playing.�

So, dad finished recording the entire album with Dylan and went on to play both bass and guitar on the next two albums, �Self Portrait� and �New Morning,� then played with the Earl Scruggs Revue, had a few more cuts as a songwriter, and then decided to go out on his own as an artist, releasing an overlooked album on Capitol Records in 1970, then formed the CDB in 1972, had a top ten single in 1973 and by 1974, �Fire on the Mountain� burst the band firmly onto the American rock music scene which was falling in love with bands from the south which would be lumped into a subgenre called southern rock.

If any one of those three individuals, Russell Palmer, Bob Johnston or Bob Dylan had not been there at pivotal points in dad�s life, we may have been deprived of a lot of great music.

Thank you, Russell, Bob and Bob, all three of you were in the right place at the right time for dad, and I�m forever grateful for the impact you made on his life and career, and I�d say there are a few of dad�s fans that will feel the same way.

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 43: The Concert Home Video Releases

But wait! There�s more!

I had gone back and forth on whether or not I should include the concert and longform VHS and DVD releases because most are essentially concert performances and I�d just be going over the same songs again and again.

After I finished my �last� breakdown of soundtrack albums, various artists appearances and compilation dedications, I decided I should do one last analysis of all the commercially released CDB videocassettes and DVDs.

So, here we go.

We start way back in 1975, before home video was even a thing, Volunteer Jam 1975, aka Volunteer Jam II was filmed at MTSU�s Murphy Center and released as �The First Full-Length Southern Rock Motion Picture,� and featured �The whole damn Marshall Tucker Band� as dad announced them, along with Dickey Betts and Chuck Leavell from The Allman Brothers Band, Dru Lumbar from Grinderswitch, and Jimmy Hall from Wet Willie were the only artists performing that got credit for the motion picture.�

The performances included were �Whiskey,� �Birmingham Blues,� �Long Haired Country Boy,� �No Place to Go,� �Funky Junky,� Texas,� �The South�s Gonna Do It (Again),� �Orange Blossom Special, �24 Hours at a Time,� �The Thrill is Gone,� �Jelly Blues,� �Sweet Mama� and �Mountain Dew.�

It was one of the very first VHS releases that I can remember, although I don�t think we ever got a copy.

In 2007, the video master was licensed to Eagle Rock Home Video and they released a nice DVD collection of the historic film.

The license with Eagle Rock has since expired, and we�re looking at possibly releasing it through our label, Blue Hat, or potentially licensing it to another home video manufacturer.

Of course, with streaming being all the rage nowadays, that is probably the way to go, but we might need to do a little digital cleanup to it first as it was shot on video and converted to film and the lack of white spotlights give the whole show a bit of a pinkish hue.

The very first CDB concert release was �The Saratoga Concert� which was recorded at Saratoga Springs, NY in 1981, and it is also notable because it is one of the very first concerts broadcast on the young MTV network, you know, back when they used to play music, and FYI, the Marshall Tucker Band was the first MTV concert broadcast, so southern boys were well represented on the channel in its early days.

The video was released on VHS and Beta, as well as the CED and Laserdisc formats through CBS Video and later CBS/FOX Video.�

The performances include �In America,� �Ain�t No Ramblers Anymore,� �Lonesome Boy From Dixie,� �The Legend of Wooley Swamp,� �Reflections,� �The Lady in Red,� �Sweet Home Alabama,� �Carolina (I Remember You)� �Makes Me Want to Go Home,� �The Devil Went Down to Georgia,� �The South�s Gonna Do It (Again),� �Orange Blossom Special,� �Amazing Grace� and �Will the Circle Be Unbroken.�

Two of those songs, �The Legend of Wooley Swamp� and �Carolina (I Remember You)� included music videos on the home video releases which were not part of the MTV broadcast, �Carolina� had a lot of old photos and some film of what growing up there might have looked like growing up there and �Wooley Swamp� had the story acted out by David Corlew, Sid Yochim and Roger Campbell as the Cagle boys and Sid�s father, the ultimate character of all characters, Schasale �Pappy� Yochim as Lucius Clay.

These are in a vault somewhere, it�s another one of my dreams to get this back out to the fans in a DVD release.

In 1990, Cabin Fever Home Video released �Homefolks and Highways� a longform VHS release which combined live performances with exclusive music videos and camera crew coverage of a Daniels family reunion, visiting the Cowboy Hall of Fame, hanging out in the studio, a trip to the Berlin Wall as it was coming down and the Daniels family hitting golf balls from the front yard of Twin Pines, including my grandmother, LaRue.

I�m not sure where I was, but there was a guy who kind of looked like me, but he had his hair permed, so it definitely wasn�t me.

Moving along�

It did very well and there was even a behind-the-scenes video that followed.

Performances included �The South�s Gonna Do It (Again),� �(What This World Needs Is) A Few More Rednecks),� �The Devil Went Down to Georgia,� �Simple Man,� �Long Haired Country Boy,� �Old Rock and Roller,� �It�s My Life� and �In America.�

It also had a nice dedication ��

"Listen good people and I�ll tell you a tale of homefolks and highways and byways and trails of farmers and fiddles and eagles and doves

Of good times and good friends of family and love of mountains and mole hills and rivers and streams of humble beginnings and grandiose dreams

Of things best remembered with a touch of delight of millions of hard miles and thousands of nights

With the wine of remembrance I offer a toast

To the people and places that to me mean the most

When it's all said and done I�ve got one thing to say God bless the homefolks, God bless the highways"

Charlie Daniels 1990

Hallmark bought the video catalogs of Cabin Fever, so I don�t even know where to begin to look for the video masters on this one.

But we�ll keep trying.

In 2005, the CDB performed in front of over 100,000 people both with and without the Nashville Symphony Orchestra during the 2005 Nashville 4^thof July Celebration downtown.

The concert was released later in 2005 as �CDB�DVD�Live� and contained footage shot on tours to Iraq as well as video from the aforementioned Volunteer Jam II, interviews and much more.

This is a fantastic snapshot of the band in 2005 and full of energy, which dad never lacked, even up until 2020, he was still a hard man to keep up with.

I�d love to see about having this upconverted to a higher resolution in some sort of special edition someday.

Performances included �El Toreador,� �Trudy,� �The Legend of Wooley Swamp,� �The Intimidator,� �Simple Man,� �Floreeda Road,� �Long Haired Country Boy,� �Preachin�, Prayin�, Singin�,� �Heart of My Heart,� �William Tell Overture,� �The South�s Gonna Do It (Again),� �Orange Blossom Special� and �The Devil Went Down to Georgia,� along with a bonus track of �Drinkin� My Baby Goodbye.�

I believe it�s also the only place you will find Chris Wormer�s guitar-shredding version of �William Tell Overture.�

As he did with several albums, the DVD was dedicated to a special group of Americans.

�Dedicated to the men and women in the military of The United States of America

I know of no organization for which I have more respect, no group of men and women I am prouder of or any force this side of Heaven which is more powerful.

We owe you so much.

Thank you and God Bless you for keeping our country free.

Charlie Daniels 2005�

On the heels of the �Songs From the Longleaf Pines� Bluegrass Gospel album, a live show of songs from that album was performed at The Ford Theater in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, with legends Earl, Gary and Randy Scruggs, Mac Wiseman, The Whites and the GrooveGrass Boys, Del McCoury�s backup band without Del.

It captures a very special show where living legends all got together to celebrate Bluegrass Gospel, and sadly, all three Scruggs men, Mac and dad have all �flown away� to that better home in the sky, Lord in the sky.

It mostly included songs from the �Songs From the Longleaf Pines� album with a few extras. The tracks are �Walking in Jerusalem (Just Like John),� �Preachin�, Prayin�, Singin�,� �I�ve Found a Hiding Place,� �I�m Working on a Building,� �The Old Account,� �What Would You Give (in Exchange For Your Soul),� �The Old Crossroads,� �Salty Dog Blues,� �Keep on the Sunny Side,� �1952 Vincent Black Lighting,� �Uncle Pen,� and �I�ll Fly Away.�

I believe we sold out all the copies we had, and no plans to order any more at this point, but I believe it is streaming on the Qello service, along with the �CDB�DVD�Live� show.

In 2011, the CDB did a show in Birmingham, AL at what was then called the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Complex � B.J.C.C. - with Widespread Panic.�

Widespread Panic recorded all their shows and the service they used struck a deal with the CDB to record their show as well.

The concert video, �Live at the B.J.C.C.� was available as a digital download and a limited number of DVDs which were sold through their website.

This is a show that we need to try to make available again, on DVD or streaming, because it was recorded in HD and looks beautiful, and the performances were superb, but there are a few of the songs from the show on YouTube.

Performances include �Redneck Fiddlin� Man,� �Drinkin� My Baby Goodbye,� �The Legend of Wooley Swamp,� �Saddle Tramp,� �(What This World Needs Is) A Few More Rednecks,� �Birmingham Blues,� �Long Haired Country Boy,� �Black Ice,� �Amazing Grace,� and �The Devil Went Down to Georgia.

In 2015, dad recorded what would be his last DVD, �Live at Billy Bob�s Texas.� It�s part of a series that Billy Bob�s has been releasing for several years showcasing different artists performing in the iconic honkytonk.

Performances included �Southern Boy,� �Drinkin� My Baby Goodbye,� �Tangled Up in Blue,� �The Legend of Wooley Swamp,� �El Toreador,� �(What This World Needs Is) A Few More Rednecks,� �In America,� �Black Ice,� �Long Haired Country Boy,� �I�ll Be Your Baby Tonight,� �Folsom Prison Blues,� �How Great Thou Art,� �The South�s Gonna Do It (Again)� and � of course � �The Devil Went Down to Georgia.�

There was one more commercially recorded show, but to this date, it hasn�t been released on DVD, although the double CD of �Volunteer Jam XX: A Tribute to Charlie Daniels� is readily available, but the show still ends up being rebroadcast on AXSTV from time to time so you might be able to catch it. It features performances by Ricky Skaggs, Alabama, Eddie Montgomery, Sara Evans, Billy Gibbons, Justin Moore, Lee Brice and Chris Young, just to name a few.

It was a great show, even though the CDB only did a couple of songs.

Maybe they�ll get around to releasing it on DVD or streaming someday. It definitely deserves it, but.

There�s one honorable mention that I didn�t plan on including because it wasn�t intended for commercial release when it was recorded, but �Live From Rockpalast� is a German release of a TV show that CDB performed on in 1980.

It wasn�t recorded to be released on home video, but 32 years after the show, it was released on DVD and separate CD copies.

I ordered the DVD last fall, but haven�t had time to watch it yet, but I need to soon.

So, that�s all we have so far, but that doesn�t mean that there aren�t more things to tap into.

We�ve got several years� worth of Volunteer Jam film and video masters in storage, some of which we�ve transferred to digital and put onto YouTube, but it�s only a small sliver of what we have in the archives.

There�s a treasure trove of performances that we need to tap into, and when we do, we�ll let you know.

Exciting things are coming!

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

Charlie's Memoir "Never Look at the Empty Seats" Now Available in Paperback

Almost three years after Charlie's passing, W Publishing - a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing - has released Charlie's memoir "Never Look at the Empty Seats" in oversized paperback format.

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 42: Memories, Memoirs & Miles: Songs of a Lifetime

I wasn�t planning on doing anything past the Beau Weevils album breakdown until I realized how many soundtrack songs and various artist projects which had a CDB song on them were still out there, along with some compilation albums which had nice dedications but that I didn�t review because I had already reviewed the songs on other albums, so I thought this catch-all epilogue might be in order.

And while I�m using the title from �Memories, Memoirs & Miles: Songs of a Lifetime� this isn�t a breakdown of that album because it is a compilation album of mostly Blue Hat Records masters of CDB songs that was released to coincide with the release of dad�s 2017 autobiography, �Never Look at the Empty Seats,� and since I�ve been covering dad�s �songs of a lifetime� for almost a year, it seemed fitting, but it does have a special dedication which I�ll get to later.

There have been a lot of CDB compilation albums, going all the way back to 1981 with �Travelin� Band,� �Listen Up,� and �At His Best� and from the early 1990s. These were considered budget-line products and CDs or cassettes could often be found at truck stops giving truckers some affordable music options for their middle of the night travels.

�Travelin� Band� was around long enough to even be offered on vinyl, and sometimes companies that specialized in such trucker music would even license the masters from Epic directly.

About ten years after �A Decade of Hits� was released, it was repackaged with a couple of newer songs for �All-Time Greatest Hits� which then a couple of years later was repackaged as �Super Hits� with the same track listing as �All-Time Greatest Hits.��

It�s worth noting that the �Super Hits� cover artwork has changed over the years, when looking through CD bins or on eBay if you�re trying to complete a collection.

The boxed set �The Roots Remain� was culled down into the two-disc set �The Ultimate Charlie Daniels Band� and then culled down even further to a single disc, �The Essential Charlie Daniels Band.�

The Blue Hat Records years produced several compilation albums as well, including �Snapshot� which included several small printed photographs and a version of �Little Folks� that had previously only been available on a CDB website-exclusive Christmas CD.

In 2000, while promoting �Road Dogs� on one of the home shopping channels, a live EP of songs from several Volunteer Jam shows called �Vintage Live Performances� were pressed to go along with the �Road Dogs� package. This is a basic no-frills package, but it does have some nice live performances, including the closest thing to the original recording of �Honky Tonk Avenue� that is out there, and it rocks.

The 2021 �Duets� album was a compilation of recordings from �Deuces� along with several other duets and vocal events from other CDB albums compiled together. Since Blue Hat is distributed by BFD through RED which is a Sony company, �All Night Long� from Montgomery Gentry�s first album was licensed for the CD and vinyl packages.

It would be difficult to track down every song from a various artists or movie soundtrack, but I�m going to try to come up with as comprehensive a list as I possibly can.�

I�m not talking about every time �The Devil Went Down to Georgia� appeared on a soundtrack, although at least two of them �Urban Cowboy� and �Coyote Ugly� were huge sellers, but I�m talking about songs that you generally wouldn�t be able to find anywhere else.

Just for the heck of it, I�m just going to start with movies first.

You have likely never see it, but dad did the entire soundtrack for a movie called �Whiskey Mountain� back in 1977. It was low budget and was released on VHS back in the early 1980s and to my knowledge, had never been seen since, except that I just saw that someone uploaded the movie to YouTube in 2012, but I don�t think a soundtrack was ever released.

On the soundtrack for �Urban Cowboy� in addition to the obvious song, it also included a song that was never released on a CDB album, except as a live duet with Crystal Gayle on a Volunteer Jam album called �Falling in Love For the Night.�

And in addition to the songs from �Urban Cowboy� an �Urban Cowboy II� soundtrack album essentially making a third LP in addition to the original double LP, but it was only released on cassette and LP, never on CD, but �Texas� was on it as was a new live version of �Orange Blossom Special,� but the fiddle medley dubbed �Urban Cowboy Breakdown,� only appears in the movie itself.

Dad did a song called �My Sweet Baby�s Gone� which was on the soundtrack for the 1988 Patrick Swayze movie, �Next of Kin,� which in turn inspired the CDB�s hit song, �Simple Man.�

In 1998, dad did a song on a Nashville album of music inspired by the animated movie, �The Prince of Egypt,� - based on the Book of Exodus. The song was called �Could it Be Me?� and was co-written with Wayne Tester. The two would later collaborate on a song for a VeggieTales project, but unfortunately that song, �Minnesota Cuke,� is only available on the DVD for �Minnesota Cuke and the Search For Samson�s Hairbrush.�

In 1994, the CDB also did a song for the Lou Diamond Phillips called �Sioux City,� called �Cry of the Wounded Eagle.�

In 2000, dad provided a song called �Can�t Keep a Country Boy Down� from the animated version of �Tom Sawyer,� and appears on the soundtrack album.

Also in 2000, dad composed the score for the independent motion picture, �Across the Line,� starring Brad Johnson, including several songs featured in the movie.�

The film hit several snags with distribution and then ended up with a very limited release and pretty much went straight to VHS with little fanfare, but the title song did make it onto the band�s �Road Dogs� album in 2000.

In 2012, dad appeared in a documentary called �Behold A Pale Horse: America�s Last Chance� about the coming of the antichrist and global government, and also contributed a title song which is available digitally, although the documentary has been re-edited and re-released as �Revelation: The Dawn of Global Government.�

In 2015, dad recorded a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival�s �Susie Q� for the movie �Susie�s Hope� about a dog named Susie that had been burned alive and left for dead but survived and became an inspiration for animal cruelty laws.

Next, here�s an assortment of songs from various artists collections featuring exclusive CDB songs.

In 1994, the CDB contributed �One More Time� to the Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute album, �Skynyrd Frynds.�

In 1995, the CDB contributed to �Amazing Grace (A Country Salute to Gospel)� with �Kneel at the Cross,� and then on �Amazing Grace 2� with �Just a Little Talk With Jesus.�

In 1996, dad had a song released on a Children�s album called �A Child�s Celebration of Song 2� which was released later on a few repackaged collections from the Music for Little People brand.

In 1997, dad appeared on a Jim Croce tribute album, performing Croce�s �Box #10.

In 2000, dad played �I Am a Pilgrim� with Ricky Skaggs on the Bill Monroe tribute album, �Big Mon.�

In 2000, dad performed a rockin� version of �Santa Claus is Coming to Town� on the Lynyrd Skynyrd-hosted album, �Christmas Time Again, the only other group to appear on the collection was 38 special.

In 2001, dad was approached to do a song for a project based around Tennessee Volunteers football called �The Rocky Top Album.� The song, �Volun-Tears� became very popular in Tennessee during football season through the end of the Phil Fulmer coaching years, after that, a lot of up-and-down seasons diminished its popularity, but I posted it after Tennessee beat Alabama in 2022. I�m sure dad was smiling down on ol� Rocky Top.

Dad did a song for the Professional Bull Riders album �Dancin� With Thunder� called �Bull Ridin� Son-of-a-Gun� in 2001.

Here�s some inside information for you. This song almost brought dad back to Sony Music, where the bulk of his catalog was. After working with Sony on Montgomery Gentry�s cover of �All Night Long,� dad was invited to contribute a song to the PBR album, and Sony even went as far as to make an offer to bring dad back to the label, and it ALMOST happened.

Because dad had been out of the Nashville grind for about seven years, he was content doing his recording at Twin Pines studios and recording and mixing his way.

After hearing the track, Blake Chancey, who was the VP of A&R for the Nashville labels, reached out to our camp about how they loved the song, but thought it needed to be remixed because sonically it didn�t sound like the rest of the album.

I passed that along to dad, and he said he would not remix, he didn�t want to sound like everyone else, in fact, he walked away from Sony�s deal on the table to come back to the label.

Integrity matters.

In 2002, a song co-written by dad and Noah Gordon called �Christmas Time in Dixie� was part of a various artists Christmas album called �Southern Rock Christmas.�

In 2007, dad did a song on the Time-Life album �Songs for Worship: Country,� a rockin� cover of Rich Mullins� �Awesome God,� which is amazing.

In 2008, dad contributed a song, �The USS New York,� which is a real ship using steel from the original World Trade Center site in its hull, to the �Never Forget�� 9/11 themed album.

In 2012, dad recorded a song that his buddy, Teddy Gentry from Alabama, wrote, �Take Back the USA� which was released as a single only.

And also in 2012, the CDB appeared on the opening for ESPN�s Monday Night Football with �Peyton Went Down to Georgia� which was released as a digital only single.

By the way, if anyone is ever looking for the original recording of �The Devil Went Down to Georgia� WITHOUT the �S.O.B.� lyrics, it can be found on �Columbia Country Classics Vol. 3-Americana.�

Lastly, there are a few dedications from compilation albums I wanted to share, but I didn�t want to review the albums themselves for fear of being too redundant.

2010�s �Land that I Love� was a repackaging of �Freedom and Justice For All� with a few other patriotic songs that had been released after it. It had a special dedication,

�To all those who hold their hands over their hearts and remove their hats when the National Anthem is played

To the folks who still think their America is worth fighting for and respect the men and women who put their lives on the line to keep us free to all who raise their children to cherish God, country, family and flag to you we dedicate this work.

God bless the American patriot and the Land that I Love

Charlie Daniels�

2012�s �Hallelujah It�s Christmas Time Again� repackaged selections from �A Merry Christmas to All� and �Joy to the World: A Bluegrass Christmas� and released in between distribution deals with E1 and MegaForce Records International, and was initially available exclusively at restaurants operated by Buffets, Inc. A portion of the sales went to benefit military families through the YMCA Armed Services, and it was dedicated accordingly.

�This album is dedicated to the men and women of our armed forces who will spend their Christmas in a far and hostile land, with a prayer that next Christmas they will be back at home with their families,

Merry Christmas heroes,

God bless and keep our troops,

Charlie Daniels�

2013�s �Hits of the South� was a repackaging of songs from �Tailgate Party� along with a few live tracks � released during the distribution deal with MRI. - and it contains a very special � if brief � dedication.

�Dedication to our brothers, Tommy and Taz, and all the minstrel warriors who grew old before their time.

Charlie Daniels�

Both Tommy Crain and Taz DiGregorio passed away in 2011, so it made sense to dedicate this collection to their memory.

I can�t think of a better way to end all the writing about dad�s songs, albums, dedications and his career as a whole than this dedication from 2017�s �Memories, Memoirs and Miles,� and if you�ve ever wanted to hear the first song dad ever recorded, �Jaguar�, it�s on this collection.

�Dedication to Russell Palmer

You taught me my first guitar chord my friend.

Never realizing the seed you were planting.

Without you and that old Stella guitar

I don�t know where I�d be today.

Much love and gratitude.

God Bless,

Charlie Daniels 2017�

Russell Palmer and Bob Johnston were two key figures in dad�s life. Had it not been for either of these friendships, dad�s life would have probably turned out much differently, and the world would have been deprived of the music which lived in dad�s heart and just needed special people in his life to help him be able to bring that music to the world.

The Daniels family is forever grateful to Bob and Russell.

I�m sure I�ve left out a lot, there are a lot of duets and guest appearances that I didn�t include, but this was the best I could do at the time, but I�m sure I�ll add to this.

It�s been fun diving deep into dad�s body of work, his �songs of a lifetime,� now on to other exciting opportunities to keep dad�s legacy alive which are now presenting themselves, and we will keep you posted when we are able to.��

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 41: Beau Weevils – Songs in the Key of ‘E’

In 2018, Blue Hat Records released what would end up being the last album of newly recorded Charlie Daniels music, but it wasn�t a CDB album, it was a whole NEW band.

Confused?

So were some members of the CDB.

The genesis of the Beau Weevils project goes all the way back to the late 1980s and early 1990s when dad was working with his friend and producer, James Stroud who produced the �Homesick Heroes,� �Simple Man� and �Renegade� albums.

The two had a great working relationship, and enjoyed the experiences tremendously, and dad always hoped to be able to work together again someday, but they just couldn�t find the right project, or the right time.

One day in 2017, dad started messing around with a guitar lick groove and played it for James who liked what he heard and they started kicking around ideas for a project together.

Between the two of them, they had a guitar picker and a drummer, as James came up as a session drummer and played in a blues band called The Kingsnakes, but they would still need a bass player, so dad called upon Charlie Hayward to provide the backbeat, and the trio started working on some songs that dad had written in Twin Pines Studio.

Word started spreading throughout the organization that dad was working with a new band, and there was some concern amongst some of the CDB band members that they would soon be pounding the pavement, but that was never going to be the case. This was just a side project, and dad reassured his band that they weren�t going anywhere.

In fact, the band only did one live performance, and that was at the album release party they did at a bar in the Midtown area of Nashville called Winners, but there was talk of possibly doing some other small shows at some point, but that never materialized.

I had hoped that one night while dad was performing on the Opry, maybe on one of the early shows, the Beau Weevils could come out and do a couple of songs before the CDB came back out later.

While this new band was working in the studio, it became obvious they needed another guitar picker, and CDB roadie extraordinaire had an inspired idea, they called on Billy Crain, brother of the late Tommy Crain who was side-by-side with dad from 1975-1989 and is who most people think of as the CDB�s other guitar player, aside from dad.

Billy is no slouch at all, he�s a world-class slide guitar player, having spent time playing with his brother, The Henry Paul Band, The Outlaws, The Bellamy Brothers, and he made a pretty good living as a songwriter as well.

He was the perfect addition to the swampy sound that dad was going for with the band that he decided to call �Bo Weevils.� Yes, that�s how it was supposed to be spelled, we even have album cover art with that spelling, but when we started looking up trademarks and website domain names, there were a few bands that were already using some variation of �Bo Weevils� or �Boweevils,� so dad decided to geau - I mean go - with something a little swampier, which fit with the Louisiana flavor of some of the songs on the album, so it became �Beau Weevils.�

Sadly, it wasn�t �Charlie Daniels and the Beau Weevils,� for the sake of discovery, particularly on streaming platforms. It was decided to just go with �Beau Weevils.��

I thought if they were going to go that route, they should go full Traveling Wilburys and use aliases all around with dad being �Beau Weevil,� James being �Jeau Weevil,� Billy being, �Yeau Weevil� and Charlie Hayward being �Sleau Weevil,� but nobody bit on the idea.

The album�s title was an easy one, because all songs are literally in the key of �E.�

The cover art was taken at the original Twin Pines barn which was built before we even moved to the ranch back in the late 70s, our dear friend, David Harris, loaned his tractor for the photo shoot, and he was also the inspiration for the band�s look.�

Rarely was David ever seen without bib overalls, a ball cap and usually a T-shirt, but he was a great guy who would do anything for you, give you the shirt off his back, and be there at a minute�s notice if you called him.

Sadly, in 2017, he was gunned down in an altercation one night. It�s complicated, but being the strong 2A guy that he was, he was carrying and before he went down, he took his killer down with him.

He is sorely missed, and our little corner of Wilson County was a better place with him in it.

I think he got a kick out of being the Beau Weevils style inspiration.

What resulted was one of the best complete albums dad did in the last twenty years, and one that I have listened to repeatedly. You could just tell he was having fun, and making great music with good friends.

That�s how it is supposed to work.

Enough backstory, on to the music.

The package kicks off with a bang with the infectious groove of �Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues,� which is a treat to listen to. It tells the story of Cajun man who is having a hard time, telling his mom that he�s got he got his heart broken, he�s got a spider in his gumbo, and all of that has led to him having the �Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues,� but he�s also got the cops from Lake Charles looking for him, and car trouble. Dad throws in some French and Cajun and probably pseudo-Cajun phrases in. He wrote some line out and had drummer Ron Gannaway�s wife translate them verbatim, so to someone in Louisiana, it may sound like Google Translate, but to the average listener, it sounds good.

In 2020, while everyone was �sheltering in place� during the pandemic, we asked some of our friends to send us videos of them dancing or lip synching to the song and we put it together into a video using clips shot mostly with my iPhone from the Winners album release party and clips from Collin Raye, Crystal Gayle, The Oak Ridge Boys, Rhonda Vincent, T. Graham Brown, and many more, including some friends in Ghillie suits dancing around a swimming pool and just having fun.�

I shot one clip of dad saying �C�ez la vie� which was one of the last things he recorded before he passed away.

It was a lot of fun editing, and I think people enjoyed what we were trying to do with it, laugh our way through the pandemic.

�Bad Blood� was a cover of a song from 1995�s �Same Ol� Me� album about a young man whose father kills a sheriff�s deputy coming to shut his moonshine still down, he leaves him and his family, but warns about the cursed �bad blood� flowing through his veins, which comes back to haunt him years later when his wife flirts with another man at a bar and his own bad blood leads him to kill the man with his bare hands, and he�s reminded of his daddy�s words as he holds the man�s lifeless body.

This version is just a little more uptempo than the original, and I mean that loosely. It�s not a fast song, it�s just slightly faster than the really creepy slow original. It definitely fits the collection.

�How We Roll� is basically a CDB song, in fact, the song made it into the CDB set in the last few years dad was touring.�

The first couple of verses are a bit of a working man�s manifesto, touting his affection for NASCAR, the Tennessee Vols, Merle, Hank, George, rodeo, and cornbread, and quotes himself when he says �you better leave this long haired country boy alone.�

The next verses sing the praises of our nation and he acknowledges that people want to come here for a better life, he just says to please get in line and do it the right way instead of coming here illegally, and if you come here wanting to change it instead of embracing the American Dream, please go back home.

�Mexico Again� is about a gringo who is down in the Mexican border town of Villa Acu�a having a good time on Cinco de Mayo who�s in the wrong place at the wrong time when a fight breaks out and the federales arrive and he�s the first one taken to jail. Many Mexican jails are notorious for extorting money from Americans, so our gringo is just another in a long line of victims of this unfortunate practice.

He gives all his dinero to the jailers, hitchhikes back to the border and screams �Adios, muchacos, you�ll never see me again!� as he runs back to the USA.

The chorus is a list of things he would prefer happening to him if he ever dares to go down to Mexico again, including chucking him in a shallow grave or chopping him up into tiny bits to be scattered in the wind.

It�s a fun song and the first video released from the project.

And while dad did spend some "unfortunate time" in Mexico for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the story in the song is not acutally autobigraphical.

�Mudcat� is the song that got this project started. Dad started playing this guitar lick and worked it into a song which has hints of �The Devil Went Down to Georgia� missed with �The Legend of Wooley Swamp� but built around the old legend of blues pioneer Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at a Mississippi crossroads.

It�s cool, swampy and definitely creepy.

One bit of trivia that even Billy Crain � who played guitar on the song - didn�t know, the National Steel guitar Billy played was given to dad by Ronnie Van Zant at the Sunshine Jam in Jacksonville, the last night of the �Torture Tour� on June 10, 1976.�

I think I blew Billy�s mind when I told him that when he was a guest on The Charlie Daniels Podcast.

�Mudcat� is pure Charlie Daniels storytelling magic.

�Smokey�s Got Your Number� is a pretty simple message, �Slow down and drive safely!�

Dad describes five different drivers under five different scenarios, including bootlegging whiskey on Thunder Road, speeding in a 20 MPH zone, getting too frisky with the girl in the passenger seat, talking on the phone while driving and putting on makeup, and texting and driving while drinking a latt� each of these individuals get pulled over by �Smokey� � slang for a state trooper � because he�s got their number, and he�s shutting them down.

�Oh, Juanita� was originally recorded for 1993�s �America, I Believe in You� album.

It�s about a boy in love with a girl named Juanita � which happens to be my mom�s middle name � and he professes his love and devotion to her, despite her father�s objections.

It�s got a highly infectious groove which many of the songs on this project do.

�Louisiana Blues� is a mournful and tender song about a man stuck in the big city and being overwhelmingly homesick for the sights, sounds and smells of his native Pelican State.

It�s a soft, bluesy cry for the familiar and the comforting when you�ve been away from home for way too long.

�We�ll All Have Some� is a funny little song about a Friday night barbeque festival in a little Louisiana town.

There must be some question about the quality of the food, because a man named Brud is called upon to be the taster of the barbeque, rum and Brunswick stew, and if it doesn�t kill him, then �we�ll all have some.

Kinda makes you wonder what has happened in the past�

One of the most common questions about the song is, �Who is Brud?�

Well, there was a Brud, Brud Spickard. He worked on mom and dad�s ranch and passed away just about a month after dad.

He was never used as a Guinea pig for possibly tainted food, but he was a true character.

Dad thought it was a funny line to say that if it don�t kill Brud, then we�ll all have some.

I think Brud got a kick out of being immortalized in the song as well.

The premise of �Everybody�s Gotta Go Sometime� is simple, no matter who you are, your days are numbered. It doesn�t matter how rich you are, how poor you are, how important you are, how forgettable you are, everybody�s gotta go sometime.

I can�t say for sure, but I really feel that dad was inspired by a song that dad covered on the �Off the Grid-Doin� it Dylan� album, �Gotta Serve Somebody� which has a similar theme, except instead everybody having a date with death, Dylan sang that everybody serves someone, be it the devil, or the Lord, and�both�songs lay out people from all walks of life who fall into the category of "gotta go sometime," basically, everyone..

But the songs complement each other, Dylan�s says you gotta serve somebody, dad�s saying that everybody�s gotta go sometime, so if you put them together, the message is, you better be careful who you serve, because one day it will be over, and whoever you�re serving will determine your eternity.

I don�t know for sure if dad was inspired by Dylan�on this, but that�s my gut feeling.

Beau Weevils - Songs in the Key of 'E' is one of my favorite albums. It's a fun album to listen to, and you can tell dad and the guys had fun making it.

Dad dedicated �Songs in the Key of �E�� to The Band�s Levon Helm.

�Dedication to Levon Helm

He always managed to play on the shady side of the beat and singing made you proud to be from the South.

Rest in peace my friend, you�ve done your part.

Charlie Daniels 2018�

Th- Th- Th- That�s all, folks!�

At least as far as original albums go�

For those counting, since 1972, that�s basically forty albums, some CDB, some Charlie Daniels, some Charlie Daniels & Friends and one Beau Weevils, and I didn�t count the original 1970 Capitol album since that was pre-1972.

I was trying to just count original albums and not get caught up too much on repackaged compilation albums without any newly-recorded material until we got to the Blue Hat Records era since a lot of songs were re-recorded for those collections, and I didn�t count the retitled Epic reissues of the Kama Sutra catalog or the Volunteer Jam albums because they were essentially live various artists albums, so the number could really be closer to sixty if you wanted to include every release that ever had dad or the CDB on it, but much of that would have been redundant.

Next time we wrap up with some Memoirs, Memories and Miles, some odds and ends, soundtrack songs, various artists collections the CDB appeared on, and so forth and a few dedications from compilation albums that were notable.

One more to go!

Check out Beau Weevils � Songs in the Key of E HERE�� � � � � � � � � ��

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 40: Night Hawk

In 2016, the CDB released �Night Hawk.��

In between the Dylan album and �Night Hawk� there was another live CD and DVD recorded at Billy Bob�s Texas, but this sadly would be the last official album of new CDB - or rather Charlie Daniels � recordings. Once again, �The� and �Band� were dropped from the official moniker.

2016 was a landmark year for dad in many ways, first of all, he would turn 80-years-old in October, he got an exhibit at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and he got to top it all off by being welcomed into the Hall of Fame as a member.

And for a man who was turning 80, he was still doing over 100 dates a year, so he was quite busy, so squeezing in an album of new music was going to be tight, but he decided to do something he had wanted to do for quite some time, an album of just plain ol� cowboy songs.

This album was also the first released through new distributor, Bob Frank Distribution. The Megaforce deal was ending, and recoding began before all the ink was dry on the new distribution deal for Blue Hat, so a choice was made to not release it as Blue Hat, but rather CDC Records. This was the only album to ever bear that record label name.

Dad was a huge fan of cowboys, it showed in his attire and he had already done a cowboy album in 1997, although that one was geared to kids.

Probably for the sake of time and costs � as well as trying to stay true to the time period in which many of the songs are set � it was an all-acoustic affair again.

One other notable behind-the-scenes change, if you look at the liner notes on the CD you will notice that under the performers, for percussion only engineer Casey Wood is listed and that is because Pat McDonald who played drums for seventeen years left for personal family reasons. Later in 2016, Ron Gannaway would become the newest member of the CDB, but with only sparse percussion needed on an acoustic cowboy album, Casey filled in until Ron was hired for the road, but Ron�s only recording with the band was on the �Volunteer Jam XX� live album from 2017.

That gets all of the particulars out of the way, so onto the music of the �Night Hawk� album.

�Big Balls in Cowtown� kicks off with a bang, made famous by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, but has been covered by many artists over the years, including George Strait featuring Asleep at the Wheel and while the title may sound provocative, the original title by Hoyle Nix in 1949 was �A Big Ball�s in Cowtown� and is about a local dance party rather than any masculine anatomical parts.

�Billy the Kid� was originally on the �High Lonesome� album, and tells the story of the legendary outlaw as he�s being hunted by lawman Pat Garrett.

It�s less of a story song, than it is just a character study.

Gone are the screaming Les Pauls from the original, the guitar work has more of a Spanish Classical sound,�

�Night Hawk� was originally recorded by C.W. McCall of �Convoy� fame back in 1977, it�s about a mysterious cowboy who doesn�t mind riding the night shift - hence the name Night Hawk � who shows up while the cattle drive hasn�t been able to find water for several days.

He�s a man of few words who lost his family in a range fire, which also seemingly burned out his spirit, leaving him to prefer to ride all night by his lonesome.

�Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer)� is pure Western swing, and the second Bob Wills song on the album.�

It�s about a dance, and the host of the dance doesn�t want everyone to leave, and keeps coming up with excuses to keep the party going.

Someone - and I�m thinking it was Chris Wormer - plays one heck of a killer acoustic guitar solo in the song.�

�Goodnight-Loving Trail� was originally written and recorded by Utah Phillips in 1976. It takes its name from the trail from Texas to Wyoming taken by Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving to sell cattle to Fort Sumner.

It�s a bit of a lamenting song, sung from what appears to be the cook on the chuckwagon who was once a cowboy, but now is too old, so he beats the triangle to call everyone to dinner, and the trail was so dry at times that �If dirt was a kingdom, then you�d be a king,� and a wind so strong it feels like it�s going to rip the very skin from their faces.

�(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend� is probably the best-known cowboy song of all time, although �I�m An Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)� might be right on its heels.

�Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend� was the original title when it was recorded by Stan Jones � who was also the writer � and it has been covered countless times by everyone from Bing Crosby, to Peggy Lee to Johnny Cash, to The Outlaws - who did a killer rocked out version in 1980 � just to name a few.

It�s the tale a cowboy�s vision of riders eternally cursed with chasing a heard of demonic cattle through the skies, and the riders warn the cowboy that if he doesn�t change his ways, he too will be damned to join them on their endless chase.

�Running With the Crowd� was originally recorded on the 1976 �High Lonesome� album. Both versions have an older wiser cowboy giving advice to a group of younger cowboys and he�s having to spell everything out for them. Everything from �size doesn�t make a man small� and �six guns don�t make a man tall.

And let me tell you, Bruce Brown plays a mean harmonica on this song.

It�s one of two songs on this album that � to me � would be perfect for the TV show �Yellowstone,� it just really fits with the vibe of the show.�

�Old Chisolm Trail� is another old cowboy standard, one that goes all the way back to the 1800s. Its frequent refrain,�

�Coma ti yi youpy, youpy yea, youpy yea
Coma ti yi youpy, youpy yea�

echoes throughout the song, as the singer relates troubles one after another that have transpired along the Old Chisholm Trail.

This is another one of those cowboy songs that has been covered by more singers than you can count. It�s a cowboy standard.

�Can�t beat the Damned Ole Machine� was written by longtime CDB keyboard player, Taz DiGregorio, and frequent collaborator, Greg Wholgemuth.

It�s about an old cowboy talking to a stranger about how the land and his way of life has been pushed aside by machinery and progress, because in the end, �you can�t beat the damned ole machine,� and it features one of the best play on words I can ever remember, the old cowboy says �I�ve heard it said, ever since I was a small child, that cowboys and engines just don�t get along.

It�s the other song on this album that screams �Yellowstone� to me, or one of the other Taylor Sheridan shows that are interconnected with the original show.

I would love to see it happen, dad was a fan of the show, and I know he would have loved to see it happen in his lifetime.

�Yippie Ki Yea� is a familiar closing lullaby if you listened to �By the Light of the Moon: Cowboy Songs and Campfire Tunes,� but it goes further back than that. Dad has a children�s story that we hope to develop into a movie or series, and the father sings this song to his son who has been playing cowboy all day long.

I wonder who dad had in mind when he wrote it�

But it signals the end of the trail, and the end of the album.

The horse in the cover photo is TP New Beginnings, the surviving bloodline of King Bear the stallion whose bloodline built Twin Pines Ranch. Two studs who were offspring of King Bear were in the Twin Pines barn when it burned to the ground in 2011, but this beautiful creature had been born from a mare and King Bear before he died in 2010.

And for the second time, and for the second time in a row, dad dedicated albums to people he had dedicated to previously.�

He dedicated �Honey in the Rock� and 2014�s �Off the Grid-Doin� it Dylan� to Bob Johnston, and now he dedicates another album to rodeo legend, Casey Tibbs, the first one being 1989�s �Simple Man.�

�Dedication to Casey Tibbs

Nobody rode a bronc like Casey,

He set �em high,

Wide and handsome

Proud and tall,

Loyal friend and

A cowboy to the bone.

Charlie Daniels 2016�

At this point in his career, dad was worrying less about commercial success and more on doing music that meant something to him, and to his fans.

Check out �Night Hawk� HERE�

Well, sadly, this was the last official Charlie Daniels album of new material, BUT not the last album of new material.

Next, we come to dad�s final album of new music, and it�s not a CDB album, Geau, Beau Weevils!

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 39: Off the Grid: Doin’ it Dylan

On April 1, 2014 � in what many probably thought was an elaborate April Fool�s Day prank - The CDB released �Off the Grid-Doin� it Dylan,� a tribute album to Bob Dylan who was a pivotal figure in dad�s career.

It was also the first album of new material released through Blue Hat Records distribution deal with Megaforce Records, which is primarily a heavy metal label, and the original distributor of Metallica�s early recordings

Notice I said first album of new material. The deal came in place in 2012, and there was another release, but it was a repackaging of hits called �Hits of the South.��

One quick side note, the CD digipak �HOTS� came coated with a shiny layer which looked great, but made signing in a standard black Sharpie marker impossible, so he had to use a lot of silver Sharpies on that album.

Later releases would be in a matte finish, and worked much better, starting with �Off the Grid.�

Before securing distribution with Megaforce, Blue Hat released a couple of other in-house releases, including a repackaged Christmas album and a few digital singles and such.

Dad was still touring heavily, and 2013 was really the soonest that he could get in and cut something new, and he hadn�t had time to write much. Plus, being the creative talent that he was, he was looking to do something different, but unsure of what that should be.

Enter Anson Mount. � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ��

Currently, Anson Mount stars as Captain Christopher Pike on the Star Trek prequel series, �Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,� however, in 2013 he was the start of AMC�s �Hell on Wheels,� a hard biting Western about the first transcontinental railroad construction in the 1860s.

Dad was a fan of the show, and surprisingly, Anson was a fan of his and they became Twitter buds. The two were on the same page of a lot of topics, which is kind of surprising for someone in Hollywood, but he grew up in White Bluff, TN.

Anson had an idea, he wanted to have dad do a guest appearance on the show. The writers had written a saloon scene where Anson would dance with a woman and he wanted to invite dad to fly to Alberta to be in the band for the saloon.

But at 77 years old, with a hectic touring schedule, and a filming location in extremely rural Alberta, it wasn�t going to happen.

So, Plan B was for dad to record something in his studio and let a live band play on set, but use dad�s recording.

That would work.

To sound authentic, the recording would need to be acoustic, so no electric instruments and dad brought in banjo virtuoso Leroy Troy, to put some finishing touches on the recording.

The final piece was called �Hell on Strings,� and was featured in the season three episode, �One Less Mule.�

Dad decided this different style would be something that could turn out an album pretty quickly and do a bit of a reinvention of the band�s sound.

Dad turned to Bob Dylan�s music, whose insistence on finishing his �Nashville Skyline� album when dad was only scheduled for one 3-hour session was a key moment in dad�s career.

One last bit to touch on since the last new album was in 2009, there was a huge change in the band lineup. Dad�s friend and keyboard player since before the CDB existed, Taz DiGregorio, passed away in a single vehicle accident in 2011.�

I remember the call in the middle of the night, it was devastating.

And while nobody could ever fill Taz�s shoes, by 2012 dad had a replacement keyboard player, Shannon Wickline.

Okay, I know that�s a lot of setup, but the rest should go pretty quickly, on to the music.

The album kicks off with �Tangled Up in Blue,� originally from the 1975 album �Blood on the Tracks.�

The tempo and feel of the CDB version is more akin to Hootie and the Blowfish�s Dylan-inspired �Only Wanna Be With You.��

The CDB version is considerably shorter than the original, as dad left out several verses, but dad said it was one of his favorite Dylan songs.

Next is one of Dylan�s most iconic songs, �The Times They Are A-Changin�.� Dad said he felt if any song personified Bob Dylan, it was this one. He said, �it was in the sixties when we had two generations that were just at loggerheads with each other, over the Vietnam War, over music, over lifestyles, dress,� and Dylan�s song is basically saying that your children are beyond your control now, and you just have to accept the changing times.

It was originally released in 1964, from the album of the same name.

�I�ll Be Your Baby Tonight� is from �John Wesley Harding,� and dad said that it�s a �good time� song that just about anyone could have recorded, possibly even someone like Waylon Jennings, the lyrics aren�t quite as obscure as some of Dylan�s others, and it just has a good feel to it.

�Gotta Serve Somebody� in dad�s words, is a simple truth, �there are only two entities to serve, God and the devil.� And that holds true for everyone, no matter what walk of life you come from, �either willingly, or unwittingly,� you�re gonna serve somebody.

It comes from Dylan�s first Gospel album, 1979�s �Slow Train� Comin,�� after becoming a Christian in 1978.

�I Shall Be Released� was written by Dylan in 1967, but it became a hit for The Band in 1968.

It�s a pretty sad, plaintiff song, about people in jail longing for the day they will be set free, seeing themselves projected high above the prison walls.

Dad said, �it�s bitter, it�s plaintiff, it�s the hope of getting out, someday.�

�Country Pie� is a special song for dad, because he played guitar on the original from �Nashville Skyline.� He�s playing the main guitar riff of the song, �my favorite I ever played on a Dylan song,� but rather than play the same thing over 40 years later, he decided to rework it as a fiddle tune.

He said that he thought it was just Dylan�s take on country life.

�Mr. Tambourine Man� is one of Dylan�s better-known songs, but it was a bigger pop hit for The Byrds than it was for Dylan when both recorded it in 1965. Dad said that it �translates into something that could be recorded by kind of a pop group and get radio play.�

The concept of �A Hard Rain�s A-Gonna Fall�- according to dad � is a simple one. It�s someone talking to his son, asking him questions, �where have you been,� �what did you see� and �what are you gonna do now,� �after that, it gets a little hairy,� according to him.

From there, the answers become very abstract, but for all of that, dad says that he thinks it basically means that he�s been out in the world, and it�s bad. It�s a bad rotten world with bad things going on, but there is hope.

It was originally from 1962�s �The Freewheeling Bob Dylan,� and another one of those perplexing but mesmerizing Dylan songs.

In an interview that he gave maybe 10 or 15 years ago, Bob said he wasn�t really sure where some of the lyrics he wrote came from.

Dad said he felt that �Just Like A Woman� � from 1966�s �Blonde on Blonde� album - was one of the more tender things that Dylan ever wrote.�

It�s about a woman who appears strong, she does all the things a grown woman does, but on the inside, she�s fragile like a little girl.

�Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)� also covered as just �The Mighty Quinn� by Manfred Mann closes out the album. Dad theorizes that the title could have come from a movie in which actor Anthony Quinn played an Eskimo, but � in his words � it gets a little hard to understand, he said that he wasn�t sure even Dylan knew what some of the lines meant, but dad really liked the song, stating that it was a good singalong song.

�Off the Grid� is an unexpected album, recorded in an unexpected style but highly listenable.

And something pretty cool happened with this album, for the first time since 1989�s �Simple Man� album, a CDB album was pressed on vinyl. It only took 25 years, but better late than never.

There�s just something about a big LP vinyl that bears examining, much more than a CD and you lose a lot of the details when you are strictly digital or streaming.

And the cover is an interesting composite of half of dad�s face superimposed over an alleyway and a figure looking much like Bob Dylan from behind, actually, the model�s name was Larry Brother Love. I�m not making that up.

For the second time, dad dedicated an album to his friend and mentor, Bob Johnston, with the first one being 1973�s �Honey in the Rock.�

�Dedication to Bob Johnston:

You taught me so much, you encouraged me in so many ways.

You showed me How to stand up to adversity that was much bigger than I am.

You encouraged me to burn the midnight oil and made me realize that for every word there�s a rhyme, for every lyric there�s a melody if we Just develop the work ethic to pursue it. You took me to places I never dreamed about going and showed me sights I never thought I�d see.

You taught me to dream big and dream constantly and Jump the hurdles that stood in the way of my goals.?�?

Bob Johnston, my friend, my mentor, my inspiration, I salute you with love,

Admiration and wishes for God�s blessings on your life.

Charlie Daniels 2014�

Bob Johnston passed away in 2015, a little over a year after the Dylan tribute album was released.

Bob Johnston was a complicated individual who endured the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, but dad always had nothing but love and respect for him, no matter where he was in his life or in his career.

No Bob Johnston, likely no Charlie Daniels Band.

One last note, on April 27, 2015, Bob Dylan performed at Tennessee Performing Arts Center promoting his then most recent album. Dad went to see him and got to talk with him for a little bit before the show.

At the time it had been about 45 years since the last time they worked together, dad talked about his tribute album to Bob, and I don�t know if he had heard it at the time, but he was aware of it.

Oddly enough, Bob�s show that night would mostly feature songs that he didn�t originally record, because he had just released a tribute album of his own, �Shadows in the Night,� the songs of Frank Sinatra.

Who knew?

Many people didn�t know how much an influence Bob Dylan was on dad�s career, even before he worked with him and I guess the same could be said for Dylan�s affection for Sinatra.

No matter the style, good music is good music.

Check out 'Off the Grid-Doin' it Dylan' HERE

Next, the acoustic trend continues with an all-cowboy album!

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 38: Joy to the World: A Bluegrass Christmas

In 2009, Blue Hat Records released their last album through distributor E1 (or eOne) which had acquired Koch/Audium who had been Blue Hat�s distributor since 2001.

Koch/Audium/E1 had some success with a Bluegrass Christmas series called �Christmas Grass� with three volumes previously released. Essentially, Charlie Daniels & Friends �Joy to the World: A Bluegrass Christmas� was unofficially volume four in the series with dad being the lead artist this time around, even though he did not sing lead on every song.

As with the previous �Christmas Grass� volumes, �Joy to the World� is a who�s who of country and bluegrass elite, and one folky pop singer.

It�s a heartwarming Christmas album with two special non-musical Daniels Christmas Eve traditions included which I�ll talk about later on.

The album kicks off with The Grascals performing �Tex� Logan�s �Christmas Time�s A-Comin�,� made famous by the great Bill Monroe.

It�s probably the best-known bluegrass Christmas song even though it has been covered by countless artists, both country and bluegrass, but most arrangements have leaned toward the bluegrass, although Sammy Kershaw�s cover had a bit more of a Zydeco feel to it.

It�s a perfect way to start off the album.

Aaron Tippin lends his voice to my favorite of dad�s original Christmas songs with �Christmas Time Down South,� from the album of the same name.

This song always paints such a warm and inviting picture of Christmas in the south. We may not always have snow at Christmas, but we celebrate just as big, and this song manages to bridge both the festive feel of Christmas with the true meaning of the holiday with no apologies, �Jesus Christ was born this day, and that�s what it�s all about.�

Jewel sounds surprisingly at home on �Blue Christmas,� for someone who was best known for the pop hits �Who Will Save Your Soul� and �You Were Meant For Me� in the mid 1990s, but she was embracing her country roots by 2008 and 2009.

The soft arrangement and Jewel�s vocals are filled with the proper amount of yearning for the most lonesome of Christmas songs.

Dad finally takes center stage with �Mississippi Christmas Eve,� a song he first recorded back in 1990 on the �Christmas Time Down South� album.

The original track was essentially a bluegrass song, so it wasn�t much of a stretch making this fit on a traditional bluegrass album.

Much like �Christmas Time Down South� it�s about celebrating Christmas in smaller rural areas of the country which don�t have the big city decorations or snow regularly, but that doesn�t damper the Christmas spirit one bit.

�Hallelujah� is another track from �Christmas Time Down South� one that was written by Bruce Ray Brown and also appeared on �A Merry Christmas to All.��

The lyrics tell the story of the Nativity with shouts of �Hallelujah� and the special celebration of His birth every year.

The arrangement is obviously more bluegrass than the previous versions, but it�s always one of the highlights of all of dad�s Christmas albums.

Dad�s favorite Christmas song is featured next �The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)� Featuring Dan Tyminski, best known as George Clooney�s singing voice on �Man of Constant Sorrow� from �O Brother, Where Art Thou?�

This version features twin fiddles and very sparse instrumentation, but the simplification seems to bring the heart of the song more to the forefront. It�s a vivid description of the picture-perfect traditional Christmas.

�O Come All Ye Faithful� features Kathy Mattea with dad providing prominent harmonies, and they blend together nicely. Kathy has a strong voice, not strong in the Carrie Underwood high note super power style. Instead, she�s got a very rich lower register, but plenty of power behind those vocal cords.

It speaks of those journeying to see the newborn King to adore and worship him, and the heavenly hosts heralding His birth.

It�s a lovely spin on a beloved traditional Christmas song.

�God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen� features Evelyn Cox from The Cox Family. There�s a feeling of urgency to the arrangement, reminding us of the story of our Savior�s birth with �tidings of comfort and joy.�

�An instrumental section uses the melody of �Greensleeves�/�What Child is This.�

I�m sure it�s just a stylistic choice, but the feeling of urgency can describe the urgency of needing to have�a relationship with Him.

Maybe I�m reading too much into it.

�Joy to The World� starts off with a feel not unlike �Rocky Top� banjo and all, and features dad taking the lead vocals again.�

There was a verse in this arrangement that I wasn�t familiar with, it begins with �No more let sins and sorrows grow.� Most versions I remember hearing leave this verse out, so it was nice to hear what the full structure was meant to be.

It�s a unique take on a Christmas classic, full of bluegrass charm.

Two of the last three tracks are Daniels family Christmas Eve staples and have a lot of sentimental meaning to us.

On track 11�is a reading by dad of the Christmas story from the Book of Luke 2:1-11, the King James Version which is what we always think of as the definitive translation of the story, but dad would read it every year on Christmas Eve up until 2019.

2021 was the first year we did a full Christmas Eve gathering in our house after dad went home, rather than take on the responsibility of reading the sacred verses myself, I let dad do it by playing this recording.

It was emotional, to say the least.

Next, Suzanne Cox, Evelyn�s sister and fellow member of The Cox Family sings �Silent Night� which pretty much all of us know by heart since childhood. The song speaks of the night of the miracle of Jesus� birth.

Sleep in heavenly peace, little baby. One day, You will save the world.

The final track on �Joy to the World� is the other Daniels Christmas Eve staple that dad would read every year, �A Carolina Christmas Carol.�

It�s a story dad wrote in 1984 and read to us every year on Christmas Eve. It�s about a young boy growing up in North Carolina who spends Christmases with his grandparents, only to have an older cousin tell him there�s no Santa Claus, and after much inner turmoil, he finally gives in and accepts that as fact.

The boy, Curtis � now an adult- is invited by his grandparents who want all the children and great grandchildren to come and spend one last Christmas with them while they are still able, and he thinks that is the perfect place for his young daughter to spend the first real Christmas she will remember.

However, Curtis and his wife both forget to pack her presents, and late on Christmas Eve night, Curtis realizes the blunder and is horrified about what awaits on Christmas morning� but then some Christmas magic kicks in.

Later, Curtis even gets to rub some of that Christmas magic in the face of the cousin who told him there was no Santa Claus.

It�s a wonderful heartwarming story, and I look forward to hearing it every year.

It is one of my goals to see a TV movie of some sort based on this produced one day. It�s that good.

In 2021, we listened to dad read it like we did the Christmas story from Luke, but in 2022, I read both of them, for better or worse.

But that�s not all that is included in the CD, the original pressing also included a DVD of the TV Special, �A Twin Pines Christmas� which aired on GAC in 2009 to promote the album, most of the stars, except Jewel, appeared on the special which was not actually recorded at Twin Pines, but rather on a sound stage. Almost everyone involved returned, except Suzanne Cox sang �Blue Christmas� with dad instead of Jewel. There must�ve been a scheduling conflict.

The special aired in 2009 and again in 2010, but has been on the Qello streaming service since around 2014 or - of course - on the CD/DVD set.

The �Joy to the World� album was dedicated to the memory of one of the biggest stars of the Grand Ole Opry, Little Jimmy Dickens.

�Dedication,

To a man I admire so much,

Little Jimmy Dickens, in my eyes

His star will never fade.

Charlie Daniels, 2009�

Next, the CDB goes Off the Grid� Dylan style!� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 37: Deuces

In 2007, the CDB released their second release of the year, a duets album.

Several names were batted around, �Double Down� �Double Trouble,� etc� but they landed on �Deuces.�

I remember walking in on the photo shoot for the cover, dad looked like a cross between Colonel Sanders and Dr. John, dressed all in white except for a silver tie, sunglasses, a Panama�straw hat and a walking stick which also brings to mind images of John Hammond, Richard Attenborough�s character from the �Jurassic Park� films�

The �Deuces� album would be a mixture of covers � both CDB and others � as well as a few originals, including one written by the incomparable Dolly Parton.

So here we go.

Ray Charles� classic �What�d I Say� kicks off the album with a bang and it features dad�s �Itty bitty buddy� Travis Tritt.

Dad and Travis trade lyrics on what is one of my favorite songs by the great Ray Charles.

This was the second time the two would collaborate, the first being 2003�s �Southern Boy� from the �Redneck Fiddlin� Man� album which dad and Travis co-wrote together in a writing session that also produced a song Travis recorded called �Southbound Train.�

Dad and Travis had a special bond that continued to the day dad died. Travis saw a mentor, and dad saw a lot of himself in this boy from Georgia.

Bonnie Bramlett may not be a household name, but you�ve probably heard her voice, but just didn�t know it, or saw her on TV at some point.

Bonnie and her ex-husband, Delaney Bramlett, toured with Eric Clapton in the late 60s and released a live album together in 1970. Later, Bonnie toured with The Allman Brothers Band, was featured on the first season of �Roseanne� � credited as Bonnie Sheridan � and her daughter Bekka is one of the most in demand backup singers in Nashville.

Dad and Bonnie go way back, so he wanted to include her on �Deuces� so they chose Stevie Wonder�s �Signed, Sealed, Delivered I�m Yours.�

Bonnie has a powerful voice and has mentored a lot of singers in her style, and her voice is on full display here, and it�s a fun take on a classic song.

Next, �Redneck Woman� Gretchen Wilson joins dad for a rockin� version of Johnny Cash and June Carter�s �Jackson.��

This is the only time that dad and Gretchen got to perform together aside from the Super Bowl pregame show appearance in 2005, and an appearance in Gretchen�s �All Jacked Up� video, but this is a pretty special performance.�

Gretchen counted dad as one of her heroes, so I know this was a treat for her. Gretchen has one of the best voices I�ve ever heard. She came out of nowhere in 2005 and took country music by storm. I even heard her do a cover of Heart�s �Crazy On You� and KILLED it.

If you�re not familiar with the song, it�s about a couple whose �fire went out.� The man wants to go to Jackson to get wild and the woman tells him he�s just going to make a fool of himself.

The guitars scream a bit more than Johnny and June�s version, but I love hearing dad and Gretchen trade lines and some fun ad libs at the end.

Next, Vince Gill joins dad for The Band�s �The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,� an examination of the post-Civil War south by the fictitious narrator, Virgil Caine.

The drum intro brings to mind a military march as Virgil relates his story.

Dad and Vince�s voices couldn�t be more different, Vince sings in a much higher register and after dad had surgery on his vocal cords to remove nodes in 2000, dad learned how to sing the �right� way from vocal coach, Renee Grant-Williams, and tended to sing in a lower register much of the time, but with Vince, dad seemed to try to meet in the middle a little bit so things didn�t sound as drastic as it did on the version of �Long Haired Country Boy� from the �Blues Hat� album.

It�s definitely worth a listen.

�Maggie�s Farm� is a Bob Dylan tune with an assist from Earl, Gary and Randy Scruggs, and Randy�s vocals sound not too dissimilar from Mr. Zimmerman�s original.�

It�s about a man who�s forced to work on Maggie�s farm, for Maggie�s brother, for Maggie�s pa and has had enough with the unfavorable conditions and is ready to call it quits, and proceeds to give his reasons.�

If it weren�t a Dylan song, it would sound right at home on the �Songs From the Longleaf Pines� album with Earl�s banjo, dad�s fiddle and the Scruggs siblings pickin� away.

It�s one of the more unique songs on this package.

Speaking of unique, who is more unique than Dolly Parton?

When Dolly was approached for the album, dad asked her to think about a song she might like to record, well, she thought about it, and apparently couldn�t think of anything.

So, she wrote something instead.

And it worked perfectly, �Daddy�s Old Fiddle,� tells the story of a fiddle that was passed down through the family. Daddy made a little money playing fiddle, and Bill Monroe offered him a job playing fiddle, but he turned it down because he would have missed his family too much, but he was there for every local pie supper, square dance and election day playing Cotton Eyed Joe and Sally Goodin.

On the day Daddy died, the child telling the story took the fiddle and played �Amazing Grace� on Daddy�s old fiddle.

Dolly threw in a very clever fiddle pun in one of the verses, �it rosin-ates throughout my soul.� Rosin� fiddle��

Well-played, Dolly� well-played�

See what I did there�?�

Two can play that game.

Next, we get a double shot � no pun intended � of Bob Dylan � when dad and Darius Rucker perform a lively version of �Like a Rolling Stone.�

Dad and Darius have fun with the tune. Taz puts his own spin on the infamous B3 sound that Al Kooper put on the original 1965 recording, and at time it sounds like it�s a little further back in the mix on the chorus than it was in Dylan�s.

But Darius is one of the best voices around, and I�ve enjoyed him back in his days with Hootie and the Blowfish, and this cover does nothing to make me change my mind about how good he is.

Dylan songs were pretty good to Darius, about a decade later he�d have a hit with a song built around an unfinished Dylan song called �Rock Me Mama� which was later finished by Ketch Secor as �Wagon Wheel.�

�Evangeline� is a song co-written by dad and Hal Ketchum. Hal and dad each demoed the song years ago, but never commercially released it, but dad invited the great Del McCoury to put a bluegrass spin on this Wooley Swamp flavored song which � in its original form � would have fit well on the Beau Weevils album.

It�s about a young Cajun girl who would sneak out at night to meet Marcel, the son of a rich man, at a local Baptist church when his father left for work.

One night she went out to meet Marcel, and the night fog moved in and she got lost in the swamp never to be seen again along with Marcel, but you can hear what sounds like her calling to her love in the swampy winds.

�And on certain nights��

Ahem�

Dad could tell great stories.

Dad really wanted to do a song with the incomparable �Little Miss Dynamite� Brenda Lee, and they chose �Let it Be Me,� by The Everly Brothers.

Most people don�t realize that the song was originally written in French and recorded by Gilbert B�caud as �Je t�appartiens,� which means, �I belong to you.�

This is the only duet love song I can ever think of dad ever recording. Dad did record a live version of a song called �Falling in Love For the Night� with Crystal Gayle at one of the Volunteer Jams, but that was a story song.

This one is soft and tender, everything that you don�t think of when you think of dad.

But it�s a beautiful song, with a beautiful little lady, one who would go on to induct dad into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016, even if she had to stand on the �Brenda Box� � because of her diminutive height - and was getting over being sick.

We come back to the classic CDB songs with �Long Haired Country Boy,� featuring Brooks and Dunn. Personally, I prefer this version to the �Blues Hat� version. I think the three voices just blend better than the three on that version.

It�s not a totally different arrangement from the one on �Blues Hat� but it works much better to me.

And for the record, Kix sings the �Tell another Joke� line, for those of you keeping score.

There�s an interesting story about the next song, �God Save Us All From Religion.��

On my birthday in 2004, we were celebrating at Morton�s in downtown Nashville which just happened to be the same night as the GMA Dove Awards at the Ryman Auditorium where songwriters Kim Williams and Doug Johnson had just picked up Country Recorded Song of the Year awards for Randy Travis� �Three Wooden Crosses.�

Dad had written with Kim before, and I knew Doug who had helmed Giant Records for a time as well as being one of the busiest record producers in town.

I saw the two come in and I mentioned it to dad, the two and their wives were dressed up and I realized the Doves had gone on earlier, and figured �Three Wooden Crosses� had won something at the awards.

Dad sent a bottle of champagne over. Before we left dad and I talked with Doug and Kim, and they confirmed the win. Me being the pushy music publisher I was at the time said that the three of them should get together and write sometime.

Dad was able to make work it into his schedule, and this is the song that was born.

The song�s title is provocative, to say the least, but it�s not putting down religion, per se, but it does point out how some organized religion can miss the point of Jesus� teaching of love in favor of strict dogma.

Marty Stuart joined dad on the track which warns of hypocrites, liars and wolves in sheep�s clothing.

The song is framed by two men in a bar, and one man building a castle of his empty beer cans and starts spouting some of his bar room philosophy or religion, �the Jews and the Muslims, the �isms� and the �wasms� and ten thousand flavors of Christians.�

At the end of the song, the castle falls and the man says that if it was up to religion, he�d go straight to hell, but with God�s mercy and faith, and saving grace, he�s forgiven.

Amen.

Next, two boys from Kentucky join dad for what I have proclaimed as �the rowdiest breakup song of all time,� �Drinking� My Baby Goodbye.�

They all sound great together, and this makes the second CD/MG collaboration, the first being Montgomery Gentry�s cover of �All Night Long� featuring dad from their debut album, �Tattoos and Scars.�

It�s a pretty straightforward cover, and it�s a song that both Eddie and T-Roy knew pretty well, and � as always � the song rocks!

Finally, we end with an instrumental, which is surprising for an album of duets, but it features a fittingly named backup band, Double Trouble, backup band for the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a little guitar picker by the name of Brad Paisley.

He�s not bad.

Anyway, the result is a work of bluesy rock art that Stevie Ray would have no doubt approved of.

After a few dedications to veterans and active military, dad dedicated �Deuces� to LEOs, law enforcement officers and first responders.

�To the brave men and women of the law enforcement agencies and the fire departments of this nation

To those who protect the highways and patrol our borders.

To that Thin Blue Line who spend their midnights in the high crime areas of the dangerous city back streets...

Charlie Daniels 2007�

It�s a bit lengthy, and this has been a pretty lengthy album breakdown, so check it out on the CD for the full dedication.

And I would be negligent if I didn�t mention that the performance of �Maggie�s Farm� with the Scruggs clan was dedicated to the memory of Louise Scruggs who passed away in 2006.

After dad went home in 2020, six more songs were added to the compilation - which never got the attention it deserved - "Waco" with Garth Brooks from 'Redneck Fiddlin' Man,' the aforementioned "Southern Boy" featuring Travis Tritt, "The South's Gonna Do It (Again)" with Keith Urban, but just on guitar, "Texas" featuring Lee Roy Parnell and Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel from the 'Fiddle Fire' album,�"Long Haired Country Boy" with John Berry and Hal Ketchum from 'Blues Hat,' and "All Night Long" from Eddie and Troy's debut album, 'Tattoos and Scars'�and it was repackaged as Charlie Daniels and Friends - 'Duets,' in 2021. Check it out�HERE��

�Deuces� was a great tribute to a legendary career in 2007, and in 2021, �Duets� was - and still is - a beautiful tribute to a life well-lived.� �

Next time, It�s time for some Christmas Joy to the World, bluegrass style.� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ��

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 36: Live From Iraq

As great and as acclaimed as the �Songs From the Longleaf Pines� album was,�it didn�t allow me to talk about one of the most significant changes within the CDB, because it wasn�t a Charlie Daniels Band album, and that was�the return of Chris Wormer to the band.

This was monumental on multiple fronts, first of all, if you quit the band, dad had no hard feelings. He wished you well in your endeavors, but you were done with the CDB. Dad didn�t want a revolving door band with people coming and going. You were committed to the band, or you were not.

Chris never wanted to leave the band. He did what he had to do for personal reasons, and it was what he felt he needed to do, even though it wasn�t what he wanted.

Then in January of 2005, the CDB was to perform on one of the biggest stages of all, pregame at Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, FL.�Gretchen Wilson�had been invited to perform, along with�Black Eyed Peas. The theme for the Super Bowl was �Bridges� because the City of Jacksonville has so many of them.�

The NFL used that theme to bridge the age gap between the current bands and their heroes, BEP chose�Earth, Wind & Fire�and Gretchen chose dad.

There was just one small problem.

CDB guitar player, Mark �Sparky� Matejka, had been involved with a band as a side project with Little Texas co-founder, Brady Seals, called Hot Apple Pie.�

In January of 2005, Sparky told dad that the band had gotten signed, so he needed to leave the CDB.

This was about a week or so before the Super Bowl pregame show, and dad took a chance and reached out to Chris to see if maybe he was available. He jumped at the chance, and he stayed with the CDB until July 6, 2020.

Things didn�t work out so well for Hot Apple Pie, Sparky left in 2006 and they disbanded in 2008, but don�t feel too bad for Sparky, he�s been playing around with a little band called�Lynyrd Skynyrd�for the past 15 years or so. Maybe you�ve heard of them�

How does all of this relate to �Live From Iraq�?

Trust me, I�m getting to that.

In 2005, the CDB went on one of their first trips to entertain the troops in the Middle East, right in the heart of the War on Terror through our good friend, Judy Seale, and her organization,�Stars for Stripes.

Chris went on the 2005 trip, but when the band went again in 2006, he felt like he should stay behind.

It was decided when the band went back in 2006, they would record a live album from the bases that were actually in Iraq, hence �Live from Iraq.�

I�m going to talk less about the individual tracks this time because I�ve already covered most of these songs over and over, so I�m going to gloss over most of them, except when I think it needs more detail

So, on we go.

We start off with the one song that wasn�t live, it�s the introduction that was used for the last several years the band performed, but most people probably don�t know was that it was an original composition by dad� and Chris Wormer.

Dad and Wormey started writing a symphonic piece, I don�t know if it would be correct to say a whole symphony, because I don�t think they ever finished it, but they had aspirations of performing it along with a symphony orchestra at some point, but it just didn�t work out, but after the �Tennessee Waltz� it announced the CDB was about to take the stage.The piece's name, "Notte Perricolosa," means "Night of Danger" and is a fitting track to start a concert in a war zone with.

From there, the CDB goes right into �In America� which was a perfect way to kick things off considering the audience, and he used the updated �Our enemies� instead of �The Russians� as well as the original �Pittsburgh Steelers Fan� instead of the local sports teams he would always try to do when he would perform live, but when you�re dealing with men and women from all over the country, there would be no way to make everybody happy.

Then, the classic �The South�s Gonna Do It (Again)� was up next followed by �The Legend of Wooley Swamp� the coolest ghost story song ever � in my book, but shortly before going into �Wooley Swamp� dad brings greetings from the United States of America and thanks them for allowing the band to entertain them for a while.

Next, dad introduces �Saddle Tramp� which he started doing again in his shows in his later years. I think he liked being able to showcase the whole band on a classic CDB song.

�Simple Man� is up next, and dad introduces it by saying that the lowest form of life on earth is a child molester, and he�s not wrong.

Next up is �Iraq Blues.� Dad introduces the song by saying that he wrote a verse when the band was there in 2005, and he wrote another verse, but had writers block until he got back on this current trip and he wrote the second verse, and jokingly said that if he came back a few more times he could have a whole song.

It�s about getting home from Iraq and loving your baby like she�s never been loved before, and before that, dad takes shots at CNN and the New York Times, much to the delight of the crowd.

By the way, the song did get finished in 2010 and was finally released as a digital single and later on the compilation album �Land that I Love.�

The instrumental �Floreeda Road� is up next and the guitar work is fantastic as always, followed by �Long Haired Country Boy� with the updated lyrics including the �tell another joke� line.

Then we take a trip out to LA with �Uneasy Rider� with updated lyrics and �Dale Earnhardt would have sure been proud� line.

The rendition of �How Great Thou Art� that dad performed was a special one as it was recorded on the evening of Easter Sunday. Dad tells the story of spending a sunrise service with the troops that morning. Just because the song affects me the way it does, I passed it by in my research, but I know it was powerful, because it always is. I just didn�t need the wave of emotion it usually brings today.

�Drinkin� My Baby Goodbye� is up next and rocks as hard as ever. It is, after all, the rowdiest breakup song ever � in my opinion.

Then dad brings some Tennessee hospitality which probably didn�t sit too well with some of the audience, at least those Crimson Tide fans, Gator fans, Gamecocks fans, etc�

Dad even says that those folks won�t like this song too much because every time the Vols make a touchdown, they have to hear this song.

I took great pleasure in posting this version the night Tennessee beat Alabama in 2022. I know dad was watching from the best seat anywhere.

Of course, dad closes out the show with a little song called �The Devil Went Down to Georgia,� and tells them how much he has treasured being with them and that he�s taking them home with them in his heart, and they would be in his prayers.

That ended the show, but not the story of the album, because it required a LOT of work, and guess who was tasked with making this something presentable�?

Chris Wormer.

Chris isn�t just a guitar player, he�s an engineer, he�s a ProTools whiz and has a great ear.

One day I went into the studio where Chris was working and he wanted to play me something. He played me part of a song that was very muddy sounding, it sounded like it was from a tape recorder that was on a stool at a bar recording a cover band�s happy hour performance. Then he clicked something on the screen and all of a sudden, it was like night and day.

It sounded like a proper live recording.

Chris had used various plugins for the ProTools setup which filtered out the lows and the muddy sound and properly balanced the tones into how it would have sounded if it had been recorded under normal circumstances.

And �normal circumstances� were not going to happen in Iraq.

The bad sound was not the fault of Bob Workman who recorded the performances as best he could while they were there, but you�re in a war zone and not always having the best situations to do a live recording, especially when you are trying to mix for the audience.

Chris later told me that they used part of two shows recorded - both of them actually from Iraq � Taliil and Fallujah, and he picked the best performances and did his best to edit them into what you hear on �Live from Iraq.�

Chris did do a little additional guitar overdub work, in fact, he�s credited with that on the album, but aside from a couple of minor fixes that were necessary, what you hear is what was performed live on the bases, as opposed to other live albums by very big bands who basically overdubbed the entire live records that were released, dad and the band were 99% what you hear is what you get, including dad�s vocals. In fact, towards the end of the tour, dad starts sounding kind of tired, something that wouldn�t have happened if it was a studio product.

I don�t think Wormey was ever given the proper credit for what he did to make this sound as good as it does. Personally, I think he deserved a Grammy or at least a CMA nomination, because this was a major undertaking.

I had some discussions with him about the recording before writing this just to make sure I covered everything properly, we may talk about it on the podcast soon. Who knows.

It�s worth noting that Wormey appears on the cover, although he was not on this tour, the picture was taken in 2005.

There was also a lot of video recorded while they were there, and the CD release included a DVD of interviews and behind-the-scenes material and a video of �The Star Spangled Banner� performed against the background of our brave men and women who were serving at the time.

Dad rightly dedicated the album to those brave heroes.

�I�ll never forget my trips to Iraq and having the honor of visiting with the heroes so far away from home who stand in harm�s way daily to keep the torch of freedom burning bright, and with great love, admiration, respect and gratitude, I dedicate this project to the men and women who wear the military uniforms of The United States of America, past, present and future.�

God Bless them All.

Charlie Daniels�

Amen!

Next time, two (or more) are better than one with Deuces!

Check out Live from Iraq HERE � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ��

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 35: Songs From The Longleaf Pines

In 2005, Charlie went back to his early roots in both Gospel and bluegrass by releasing �Songs From the Longleaf Pines: A Gospel Bluegrass Collection� on Blue Hat Records, but he wasn�t alone, he brought along a few bluegrass greats, including a few he had a long history with and even ended up with another Grammy nomination.

The album came about in a roundabout and unconventional way.�

Scott was working on a project called �The Rocky Top Album� which was built around the University of Tennessee football program. It included a new recording of �Rocky Top� by the Osborne Brothers and a few songs by a band called The GrooveGrass Boyz, but it also included a song called �Volun-Tears.��

Scott�s camp reached out to see if dad would want to be involved, and he was. The song was very popular when the Vols football team was competitive, then in the years following the Lane Kiffin debacle, it kind of died off. Now that Tennessee is on the upswing, hopefully, it will become popular again.

But that single song on a Tennessee Vols-themed album then led to an all-star album of Bluegrass greats including Earl Scruggs, Mac Wiseman, Ricky Skaggs, The Whites, Cyndi Wheeler and The GrooveGrass Boyz which consisted of members of The Del McCoury Band, but without Del himself.

Dad and Earl went all the way back to the 1960s when after Flatt & Scruggs broke up, Earl founded The Earl Scruggs Revue and dad became a part of that group which also consisted of Earl�s songs, Gary and Randy.

It�s worth noting that dad�s first appearance on The Grand Ole Opry Stage was as a member of the Scruggs Revue, and on Nov. 16, 1969, Earl felt compelled to perform at a Vietnam War protest in Washington DC, and dad was there with him, so they went way back together.

Enough backstory, let�s get on with the music.

The album begins with �Walking in Jerusalem (Just Like John)� a song that goes all the way back to African-American spirituals. Recorded versions go back to 1917 and the version recorded for this album is credited to an arrangement by Bill Monroe.

It begins with dad reciting John 3:16, then the music kicks in and dad and Mac Wiseman trade lyrics in the upbeat and fast-paced song.

The lyrics speak of wanting to be ready to walk in Jerusalem, just like John the Apostle, however, as with many songs that began as spirituals the freedom of heaven was a prevalent theme.

But the song speaks of those coming to Jerusalem, some coming lame, some coming cripple, some coming in Jesus� name.

The Whites provide delightful backup vocals for the track.

Next up is �Preachin�, Prayin�, Singin',� which was made famous by Flatt & Scruggs, thankfully, dad had half of that duo performing with him on this track and album!

The song details a lost sinner who happens upon a revival in a small town square, he feels compelled to stay and with all of the shouts of praise, and singing, he opens his heart and lets the Holy Spirit in which makes him want to shout with joy, and sing His praises, along with the others.

It�s less than two minutes long, but it�s one that grabs you and leaves you wanting more, and dad trades vocals with none other than Ricky Skaggs on the song.

That Ricky is a good guy, he may go places someday.

�I�ve Found a Hiding Place� is another one that Bill Monroe made famous.�

It�s not hard to figure out what the �hiding place� is, it�s the love of Jesus, who keeps him night and day, answers prayers and helps him fight the knock of temptation.

These songs all move so quickly � because they�re bluegrass � they seem to be done not long after they start, and this one is no different.

�I�m Working on a Building� is one of the slower songs on the album, but still just as uplifting. It�s another song that likely had spiritual origins, but became a Gospel standard with The Carter Family popularizing it, as well as Bill Monroe later on.

It seems straightforward, �I�m working on a building� a church for my Lord, in fact, dad�s manager, David Corlew did a mission trip where he participated in building a church, and recorded it for a music video from the collection, but I think it goes deeper than that.

The lyrics speak about being a liar, a drunkard, and a gambler, but now he�s �working on a building too.� Once we accept Christ into our hearts, we become inhabited by the Holy Spirit, therefore, the building he�s working on is his body, for his Lord.

The next is a recitation of the 91st Psalm, dad�s favorite Psalm, in fact, verses 1-8 � from The Living Bible - adorn dad�s bronze grave marker.

�He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God and I am trusting Him.�

�Thou a thousand fall at my side, though ten thousand are dying around me, the evil will not touch me.�

The imagery is powerful, put our faith in Him, no matter how bad the circumstances.

�Keep on the Sunny Side� is another optimistic message in this upbeat collection, once again, The Carter Family helped make this song popular, though its roots run back to a woman named Ada Blenkhorn who was trying to inspire her wheelchair-bound nephew.

After discussing keys and hymns briefly with Mac and Earl, they launch into the song, with Mac taking the lead vocal role, I mean it�s Mac Wiseman after all.

But the message is beautiful, there�s a dark side of life, but also a sunny side, you�ll meet both, but always try to stay on the sunny side.

It�s easy to get bogged down with our problems, but knowing that God is in control and has our backs is a comforting feeling.

�Softy and Tenderly� is probably the slowest song on the album, and one that dad knows well. He performed it a few years before on the �How Sweet The Sound� collection.

The message is simple, Jesus is calling for us, softly and tenderly, and wants to be with us for all eternity.�

The song is frequently played at funerals, and dad did a beautiful rendition at George Jones� memorial service in 2013, I believe Cyndi�Wheeler sang along with dad on this version.

�The Old Account� is about our sin account. The tally that has built up over the years of all the sins we committed. And as Romans 6:23 famously says, �the wages of sin is death.�

Pretty bleak stuff��

However� by turning to Jesus, our account is settled, our debt of sin forgiven, and life everlasting.

Hallelujah!

The instrumental of �I�ll Fly Away� was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Country Instrumental Performance.

It�s a song dad has performed many times in his career, but this was the only time I know of that he did it strictly as an instrumental, aside from a brief quote of Psalm 33 at the beginning.

�How Great Thou Art� is next. It starts out with the chorus instead of the Elvis version which starts with three verses then the chorus.

I was actually able to get through this version without crying. I haven�t had great luck with this song since dad passed. So far, dad, Vince Gill and Michael W. Smith with Cece Winans have all brought me to tears with live performances.

This one I seemed to tolerate. It also seems that they left out the final verse, which is usually what gets me.�

But it�s a beautiful song, one of dad�s favorites and this is a nice version.

�The 23rd Psalm � Recitation� This was the first scripture I learned when I was a child, and dad reads the King James Version.

It starts with Mac talking about not understanding when bad things happen to young people, and deadly storms and such, but he thinks it�s all part of God�s master plan, and He will help us understand by and by.

After dad reads the Psalm, Mac reminds us of a scripture in 2 Corinthians, that the Lord will not burden us with too much to carry.

�What Would You Give (In Exchange For Your Soul)� begins with Mac in the first verse and just an acoustic guitar, then everyone comes in on the second verse which dad takes lead on, with Mac singing harmony.

Our soul is precious, we shouldn�t risk it. Plus, if we are in Christ, we belong to Him, our soul belongs to Him.

�The Old Crossroads� closes out the album with a swampy bluegrass sound that would sound at home on the soundtrack for �O, Brother, Where Art Thou.�

It�s about the crossroads we face, heaven and life, or death, destruction and hell.

Jesus will guide us to the correct path.

The last words on the album are John 3:17, �For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him,� the companion verse to John 3:16 which led off the album.

The album is dedicated to Russel Palmer, a childhood friend of dad�s who had a profound effect on dad�s career trajectory.

�Dedicated to Russell Palmer, the man who taught me the first guitar chord I ever knew.

Oh, the hours we spent in that little white house behind your family�s home listening to Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs on an old wind-up record player and trying our young and innocent best to emulate what we heard.

I couldn�t have done it without you, buddy.

God Bless,

Charlie Daniels 2005�

If it weren�t for Russell, there may not have been a Charlie Daniels Band. Russell was there when dad was inducted into the Opry, and he and his wife, Kaye, still live in Gulf, NC.

The longleaf pines in the title were a reference to his daddy, my grandfather Carlton who worked in the timber business accessing longleaf pine trees for telephone poles.

And one quick note about the cover, the image of dad is from a painting that still hangs at mom and dad�s house to this day.

It was dad�s favorite painting of him. He thought the artist got him down perfectly, wrinkles and all.

He was right.

Check out 'Songs From the Longleaf Pines' HERE

Next time, another CDB live album! From Iraq...?

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

50th Anniversary of Uneasy Rider "Music Video"/Short Film Search - Soapbox, Jr.

I wanted to reach out to basically anyone who might have seen or been involved with a piece of lost CDB history.

�

In 1973, about 9 years before the birth of MTV, when only a few artists were making short films based on songs - something pioneered by The Beatles - "Uneasy Rider" was filmed for such a release.

�

I remember when I was a kid, I saw it on a film projector at dad's manager's house. I would have been about seven at the time.

�

Over the years, the CDB staff searched for a copy of this film to no avail.

�

There was speculation that a music attorney who was involved with the CDB around that time might have had a copy in his archives, but to our knowledge, there was nothing in his CDB files when he passed away a few years ago.

�

The former manager passed away several years ago as well.

�

Since I was just a kid, the thought crossed my mind that it might have just been shown that one time at the manager's house and then lost for good.

�

Then last year, when I was writing a Soapbox, Jr. about the original 'Honey in the Rock' album which contained "Uneasy Rider," and posted it to the CDB Facebook page, to my surprise, a fan asked if anyone else remembered seeing the "Uneasy Rider" video/film.

�

I inquired where he saw it, he said it was one of the syndicated country music shows that usually ran on Saturdays, either "The Porter Wagoner Show" or "That Good Ole Nashville Music" aka "That Nashville Music" as "Pop Goes the Country" didn't come around until 1974.

�

I spoke to someone at RFD-TV which has Porter's show archives and he said that they didn't show music videos on the show, which makes sense because they were not common back then, but as a special presentation, it might be possible that they did air it, but it was a promising dead end.

�

So, here's what I'm hoping... I'm hoping that someone who reads this either has a concrete memory of what show they saw it on, or someone who worked on the film or anyone who worked at Kama Sutra/Buddah Records in the early 1970s might have an idea where we might be able to locate the film.

�

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of dad's first hit record, and we sure would love to be able to celebrate it by locating this lost treasure.

�

Thank you,

�

What do you think?

�

Let�s all make the day count!

�

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

�

God Bless America!

�

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

�

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

�

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 34: Essential Super Hits

In 2004, Blue Hat Records released their own version of the CDB�s Epic Records �Super Hits,� but they one-upped the Sony company�s version by calling theirs �Essential Super Hits.�

Many of these I�ve already reviewed as they appeared on �Fiddle Fire� or other Blue Hat collections, so � as I did with �A Decade of Hits� � I�m only going to concentrate on the ones I haven�t covered previously.�

So that being said, we�re jumping right in to cover the new tracks because there were quite a few of them.

�Essential Super Hits� goes through a full thirteen tracks of previously released Blue Hat Records masters, �The South�s Gonna Do It (Again),� �The Devil Went Down to Georgia,� �Long Haired Country Boy,� �Still in Saigon,� �Texas,� �Drinkin� My Baby Goodbye,� �In America,� �Simple Man,� �This Ain�t No Rag, It�s a Flag,� �Southern Boy,� �The Legend of Wooley Swamp,� �Free Bird� and �Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues.�

Then with the 14th track, we get a newly recorded version of �Uneasy Rider.� Now dad�s arrangement evolved from the 1973 original over the years, with one of the first changes which was delivered when he started performing the song live and realized that he had miscounted when he said �the last thing I wanted was to get in a fight in Jackson Mississippi on a Saturday night �specially since there were three of them and only one of me.� He started doing the updated version live shortly after the single was released, but he also started playing around with a few other things like changing �peace signs� to �gun racks� and trying to stay a little more current by changing the name of the presidential bumper stickers and opposing candidates mentioned, and updated Mario Andretti to Dale Earnhardt over the years as well.

In this version, the original character isn�t �tokin� on the number� he�s listening to conservative talk show host G. Gordon Liddy, which in the context of the song is a bit of a puzzling choice, but I think he was just having fun with it. He also changed a couple of other things like laying a five-dollar bill on the bar to pay for his beer and threw the mechanic a fifty-dollar bill to pay for changing a tire.�

Then he really got silly with the changes by having the main character accuse �ol� green teeth� of tearing Sean Hannity stickers off the bumpers of cars and voted for Alan Colmes for president.

Dad was good friends with both the conservative Sean Hannity, but also with the very liberal Alan Colmes and appeared on �Hannity & Colmes� many times, and dad also did both Alan and Sean�s radio shows many times.

All of the changes might not make sense in the context of the original story, but like I said, dad was just having fun with his very first hit song.

Next �Trudy� gets the cover treatment� again. Not counting live versions, this is the third studio recording of dad�s classic story of a young Cajun man who gets in over his head at a poker game in Dallas.

This one seems slightly slower, in fact, it�s about 10 seconds longer than the version from �Fire on the Mountain,� so I think that is the result of slower beat.

The arrangement is basically the same as the one on �FOTM� but they include some new background vocals on the final chorus, something that was added to live performances while Tommy Crain was with the band. In this case, Bruce Brown kind of repeats dad�s lines until they get to �and they won�t let me out of this jail� then it becomes more traditional.

It�s a solid cover of a classic CDB song.

With �The Intimidator,� dad pays tribute to the one and only Dale Earnhardt who was nicknamed �the intimidator� because of his aggressive driving style.

Sadly, as NASCAR fans know, #3 lost his life in a crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001.

The song starts as a tribute to #3, but the last verse celebrates the next generation �intimidator� by saying �You almost got this sucker won, engine�s running great, but don�t look in your rear-view mirror, here comes #8,� which was Dale Earnhardt, Jr.�s number when he first started racing.

Dad ad libs a couple of lines on the outro to the song, including �Stand on it, Son� which is a throwback to �Stroker�s Theme,� dad�s first racing song from the movie �Stroker Ace.�

The original release of �Essential Super Hits� ends with �The Pledge of Allegiance,� but should be titled �Red Skelton�s Pledge of Allegiance,� because dad is reciting words that Red Skelton spoke on his TV show back in 1969 about how one of his teachers was a little concerned that the reciting of the Pledge in class everyday had just become a monotonous routine, and decided to break it down by individual words and phrases in the Pledge.

It was a powerful reminder back then, and it holds up just as well in the present day.

School prayer was also a hot topic back in the late 60s and early 70s. Red states that since he heard this back when he was a child, two states were added to the United States and two words to the Pledge, �under God.� He goes on to add that �wouldn�t it be a pity if someone said �That�s a prayer� and that it would be eliminated from schools, too?

I consulted with Red�s widow about using some photographs of Red for a slideshow video, she graciously allowed me to, and we also included some links to purchase some of Red�s artwork, and it made for a very nice video.

That�s where the original release ended, however, in 2016, Blue Hat Released �Deluxe Essential Super Hits� and added two more songs.

The first one was a song that was only available as a digital single for several years, �Let� em Win, or Bring �em Home.�

It�s a tribute to those who are serving our nation, the ones that gave their lives for our freedom, and the Gold Star families who lost loved ones who fought and died for our country.

A music video was also released with a message that dad recorded when it was first played to a Gold Star families group.

Dad was very excited about this song, more excited than he had been about a project in quite some time when it came to fruition in 2011.

Dad also takes a shot at the despicable Westboro Baptist Church which protests the funerals of soldiers which then put dad in their crosshairs. They did a parody of �The Devil Went Down to Georgia� called �The Devil�s Fiddler� which was one of the vilest things I�ve ever heard in my life.

The final new track on the �Deluxe Essential Super Hits� collection was a cover of Johnny Cash�s �Folsom Prison Blues� which had been recorded for a while, but never added to an album until this one.

He had started doing this in his shows around the time that Blue Hat was between distributors, so it never found a home until this 2016 re-release.

Dad�s cover is a fitting tribute to the original, which� many people don�t� know was taken from an old torch song called �Crescent City Blues,� written by Gordon Jenkins and sung by Beverly Mahr.

Cash sped up the tempo, and changed most of the lines, but curiously most of the verses start the same way, but it�s about a woman who feels stuck in her small home town and wants to see the world only to feel the train�s whistle torture her with it�s tempting howl.

It�s one of the best-known of Cash�s songs, and it has made a ton of money over the past 60 plus years, but he did get sued over the infringement. Surprisingly, it was settled for $74,000 in the early 1970s. Even though that was a lot of money back then, it still seems low considering how much he made from it, but the argument can certainly be made that Johnny made it his own.

The album was dedicated to the CDB's former head of security from the late 70s to the early 80s.

"Dedicated to Rick Rentz 1951-2004.
He served his country proudly. And no matter where, no matter what, he always had my back." - Charlie Daniels 2004

Rick was a Green Beret who co-founded a concert security company in Connecticut called A-Team Security, and this was way before Mr. T. had a TV show.

A-Team had a motto on their black T-shirts, "EXPECT NO MERCY." It was a friendly warning not to get out of line.

Here's what set A-Team apart from other event security companies, you had to have a year of armed combat to be qualified to work for them.

Why?

Because these guys had nothing to prove. They knew they were badasses, and they didn't have to prove it by trying to bully concertgoers or strut around looking for a fight.

If you got out of line, A-Team would detain you until the cops got there, but if you pulled a knife on them or started throwing punches... then their motto kicked in, "EXPECT NO MERCY."

The original 2004 release also included a DVD which had five CDB Blue Hat Records music videos, "Long Haired Country Boy," "Southern Boy," "Texas," "In America" and "The Last Fallen Hero."

Essential Super Hits is the most comprehensive CDB hits albums since �The Roots Remain� boxed set in 1996, and highly recommended to any CDB fan who doesn�t own it.

I had intended to also review �Songs from the Longleaf Pines� but there were more unreleased songs on this than I realized, so I�ll do that next time.

Check out 'Essential Super Hits' HERE

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway�#End22

� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

�

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

�

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

�

That’s Been Fifty Years Ago… 50 Years of the CDB Part 33: Freedom and Justice For All

In 2003, Blue Hat Records released �Freedom and Justice For All� a patriotic collection of CDB songs for the first time. While writing the liner notes for �The Roots Remain� boxed set, Nashville music beat writer Robert Oermann erroneously stated that �America, I Believe in You� was an all-patriotic song release, that only applied to the title song.

In 2003, the U.S. was still riding a post-9/11 wave of patriotism, and the backlash against the War on Terror hadn�t risen to the levels that it eventually would.

But, with at least three previous America-themed charting songs, it was good timing for the release.

All the label, distribution, production and band personnel involved stayed the same for �Freedom and Justice For All�

So, let�s get to the songs.

We start things off with a spoken word piece called �My Beautiful America.��

As dad was apt to do from time to time, he would write his weekly soapboxes, often political, sometimes humorous, and on occasion, something like this where he talks about the �majestic beauty� of our nation and frequently asks if the listener has seen the redwoods in California, or tasted Buffalo wings in New York, or driven the lonely stretches of Route 66.

It�s a beautiful piece of writing, and dad decided to put some music behind it and record it for �FAJFA,� and the result was something magical.

It became a tradition to put �My Beautiful America� up as a 4th of July soapbox every year, and a few years later, I was looking for something to create to promote on our YouTube channel, and I came across some fan-made slideshow videos for the song and I wanted to see if I could do something better.

Never being one to let lack of skill or talent hold me back from trying something new � Yes, you could say I�m a bit on the stubborn side, - I dove in headfirst and created something I was happy with.

We put it up on YouTube in 2015 � several years after it was originally released, and it went viral. It was the most viewed video on the channel for many months, and currently sits at over 3.1 million views. Not too shabby.

Next up is the second Blue Hat version of �In America,� but this one was recorded in Twin Pines Studio instead of the live version recorded in 2001.

It�s a good arrangement and performance, the one holdover from the live version is the �if the Russians don�t believe that they can all go straight to hell,� is changed to the more generic �If our enemies don�t believe that�� which encompasses what was going on with the War on Terror at the time, and not just the Russians, although, the original Russians lyric works just as well today as it did in 1980.

�Summer of �68� is one of the new songs in this package.

It starts off with what sounds like a Rickenbacker guitar which fits with a lot of the 60s bands like The Byrds, but I don�t think dad owns a Rickenbacker, so maybe it was borrowed, or an effect was used to make it sound like it, but the sound is definitely intentional.

It talks about the war in Vietnam, Dr. King being killed and the flower children generation who got lost somewhere along the way from their hopes of changing the world.

It�s a snapshot of a highly turbulent time in our nation�s history, but it also ties into the more recent turbulent times we�ve experienced since 1968.

Speaking of Dr. King, the next song is �Let Freedom Ring� which is a cover from the underrated �Renegade� album from 1991, and it�s just as powerful as it was back then.

This arrangement starts out a little more dark and funkier than the original and heavy on the bass groove.

The first verse is about Dr. King and draws from his �I have a dream� speech.

The next describes the Berlin Wall going up and then coming back down as it did in 1989.�

The third verse describes the tragedy of students killed in protests in China�s Tiananmen Square, and the final verse gives thanks to God, our Father from whom our freedom originates.

The choruses say �let freedom ring� and then dad names place after place around the world from where to let it ring.

Next up is �The Last Fallen Hero� which I reviewed when I did my breakdown of the �Redneck Fiddlin� Man� album, so I�m going to move on to the title song.

�Freedom and Justice For All� is a guitar-driven song with a melody that seems to borrow slightly from �San Miguel� from the �America I Believe in You� album.

It begins with a son describing a vision he had to his mother who explains to him that his vision of a man holding a whip and beating innocent people was a tyrant. Next, the son describes a storm coming leaving rivers of blood in the sand, the mother explains that is Justice coming to save us.

The imagery is Biblical in nature, but it seems to be describing the founding of our nation, �We were butchers and bakers and movers and shakers and poets and sinners and saints.�

They were average people who stepped up to overthrow tyrants.

It�s a great song lyrically, but it could have even worked as an instrumental with lots of dual lead guitars.

It�s definitely a highlight on this collection.

�American Farmer� first appeared on 1985�s �Me and the Boys� album.

This new recording follows much of the same arrangement but sounds just slightly slower.

It�s about the plight of the American farmer which was highlighted by the Farm Aid concert series, but the song predated the concert by several months.

There are a couple of minor lyric tweaks, and the background vocals are quite a bit different, but the message is still the same, �If the man don�t work, then the people don�t eat.

�God Bless the Mother� was included on �A Merry Christmas to All� which was recently reviewed, so I�m going to skip on the next song.

Next up is the Blue Hat Records version of �Simple Man.� The arrangement is very similar to the 1989 version, and nothing really jumps out except from some slight phrasing changes.

It�s about a man fed up with violent crime and he offers some alternative punishments since the judicial system seems unwilling to do much to fix the problem.

Next up is �Still in Saigon� which was originally recorded on 1982�s �Windows� album.

The Dan Daley-penned song brought to light much of what our Vietnam veterans had been dealing with in the 70s and 80s, PTSD, a less than warm welcome home from combat and such.

One noticeable lyric change was that �that�s been ten long years ago� was replaced with �that�s been many long years ago.� Ten years made sense in 1982, but not in 2003.

I already did my breakdown, on �This Ain�t No Rag, it�s a Flag,� on �Live!� album, so I�m going on to the next one.

�(What This World Needs is) A Few More Rednecks� is the second song redone from 1989�s �Simple Man� album.

The arrangement isn�t much different than the original, but there were few lyric tweaks. A line about not trusting former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was replaced with �I�m a catfish connoisseur, I love the Lynyrd Skynyrd band, I�m crazy about the NFL and I�m a die-hard NASCAR fan� to bring it out of the late 80s/early 90s world politics and more of a general call for more regular common folks.

�America, I Believe in You� was the title song of an underrated 1993 album on Liberty Records. It�s such a great song, but the original version was over five minutes long, and the single edit butchered the song completely. This one is just 4:34 and that probably would have worked better for radio back in 1993.

There was another lyric tweak in this one. �And I love to see the tyrants biting the dust, in fact I�m glad about it all� was replaced with �I loved seeing Saddam biting the dust, in fact I�m glad about it all.�

What better way to close out a patriotic album than with our national anthem?�

Dad�s instrumental version of �The Star-Spangled Banner� was also on the �Redneck Fiddlin� Man� album, so breaking it down again would be a bit redundant, but it�s a powerful haunting interpretation of our beloved anthem.

This album was dedicated to the Gold Star families that lost loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom.

It�s an important album that helped solidify the CDB as a band of patriots who loved our brave men and women who fought and those who died protecting our nation.

A few years later, dad would try to help to make a down payment on that �unpayable debt of gratitude� that dad often mentioned when he co-founded�The Journey Home Project.

Next, we take a quick look at some Essentially Super songs and some from the Longleaf Pines!

Stream �Freedom and Justice For All� HERE

What do you think?

Let�s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22
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� �Charlie Daniels, Jr.

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PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

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Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

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A CDB Christmas Tradition - A Carolina Christmas Carol

Merry Christmas!

For those of you who have been here for a while, you know that dad would usually put up his story, "A Carolina Christmas Carol" for the soapbox until after New Year's Day, however, since I'm trying to finish up 50 years of CDB soapboxes, I'm going to try to crank out a few more, but will probably still extend to early January.

Every year around this time, we put up this story dad wrote in 1984 and published in 1985 with his first book, a collection of short stories called �The Devil Went Down to Georgia: Stories by Charlie Daniels,� and I requested that he read that story every year on Christmas Eve, and he did it every year up to Christmas 2019.

We post his story to celebrate the Christmas spirit and the birth of our Savior.

He won�t be here to read it to us, but we hope you enjoy reading it, or we�re also including the YouTube link to one of the recordings he made, so you can hear it for yourself, and experience what only our friends and CDB family were able to. I actually played him reading the Christmas Story from the Book of Luke and this story on Christmas Eve for our guests, most of whom had been there for the real thing in the past.

The story is a fantasy, of course, but it does touch on the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas, everybody from the entire CDB and CDPodcast family, and Twin Pines Ranch.

God bless us, everyone.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

CD, Jr.