On Monday 6 July 2020, it was announced that Charlie Daniels, a member of The Country Music Hall of Fame, who was best known for 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' (No.1 for one week in August / September 1979), passed away on Monday morning, after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke.

Charlie Daniels was 83.

The Charlie Daniels Band recorded 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia', which was written by Charlie Daniels, Tom Crain, William Joel 'Taz' DiGregorio (Saturday 8 January 1944 - Wednesday 12 October 2011), Fred Edwards, Charles Hayward and James W. Marshall, and included the track on 'Million Mile Reflections' (Epic Records, 1979); the track was No.1 on the Billboard country music singles chart for one week in August / September 1979, and reached No.3 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music singles chart in 1979, a position it stayed at for two weeks.

Both the single, 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia', and the album, 'Million Mile Reflections' (Epic Records, 1979), sold more than a million copies, while 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' earned The Charlie Daniels Band a Grammy Award for 'Best Country Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal'.

The original version of 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' was certified 'Platinum' by the Recording Industry Association of america (RIAA) on Wednesday 20 December 1989, for sales of over two million copies in the United States.

In 2003, 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' was ranked at No.69 on CMT's '100 Greatest Songs of Country Music'.

In 2006, 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' was ranked at No.5 on CMT's '20 Greatest Southern Rock Songs'.

Since it became available as a download in the digital era, 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' has also sold 2.49 million digital copies in the United States as of November 2019.

In June 1998, Epic Records re-released the song to country music radio in the United States, but accidentally sent out the version in which the line 'son of a bitch' was uncensored.  This error was quickly corrected, and 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' re-entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart at No.62 for the chart dated Saturday 20 June 1998.  'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' spent seven weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart and peaked at No.60 in 1998.

Charlie Daniels' recording of 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' gained the following chart positions around the world:

Australia: (Kent Music Report Chart) (No.14, 1979)
Canada: RPM Country Tracks Chart (No.1, 1979)
Canada: RPM Top Singles Chart (No.5, 1979)
Republic of Ireland: IRMA Irish Singles Chart (No.14, 1979)
Netherlands: (Dutch Top 40 Singles Chart) (No.25, 1979)
New Zealand: (Recorded Music New Zealand Chart) (No.13, 1979)
United Kingdom: (Official UK Singles Chart) (No.14, 1979)
United States: (Billboard country music singles chart) (No.1 for one week in August / September 1979)
United States: (Billboard Hot 100 pop music singles chart) (No.3 for two weeks in 1979)
United States: (Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart) (No.30, 1979)
United States: (Cash Box Top 100 Singles Chart) (No.4, 1979)
United States: (Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart) (No.60, 1998)



In 1993, a sequel to 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia', titled 'The Devil Comes Back To Georgia' (written by Charlie Daniels), was recorded and released by Charlie Daniels and fiddle player Mark O'Connor, featuring guest performances by Travis Tritt (as the devil), Marty Stuart (as Johnny) and Johnny Cash (Friday 26 February 1932 - Friday 12 September 2003) as the narrator; the track was included on Mark O'Connor's 'Heroes' (Warner Bros. Records, 1993).

Charlie Daniels' death was confirmed by his publicist, Don Murry Grubbs.  He is survived by his wife, Hazel, and son Charlie Daniels Jr.

By the time The Charlie Daniels Band topped the Billboard country music singles chart with 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' in 1979 (No.1 for one week in August / September 1979), the instrumentalist, singer and songwriter had long established a remarkable, multifaceted career in Nashville.

As a session musician, Charlie Daniels played on three of Bob Dylan's albums, 'Nashville Skyline' (Columbia Records, 1969), 'Self Protrait' (Columbia Records, 1970) and 'New Morning' (Columbia Records, 1970), as well as recordings for Ringo Starr and Leonard Norman Cohen (Friday 21 September 1934 - Monday 7 November 2016).

At the other end of that 60-plus year career, Charlie Daniels used more of his voice in support of United States veterans, and was known to speak out on their behalf on social media until his final days.

In 1974, Charlie Daniels launched the first 'Volunteer Jam', a regular all-star concert which has continued for nearly fifty years.

In 2008, Charlie Daniels joined The Grand Ole Opry, and was inducted into The Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.

Personal Note from Gene Watson
'It's with a heavy heart that I am letting you know our good friend and Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Daniels passed away this morning at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee from a hemorrhagic stroke.

He was 83.

What a truly great man beyond just his obvious talents as a singer and musician.

He was a force of nature and will be greatly missed.



This photo was taken at The Hall of Fame with R&B legend, Sam Moore and Charlie.

RIP'

Source
genewatsonmusic.com