Country icon, multi-instrumentalist Charlie Daniels Dies at 83

Charlie Daniels, Country singer-songwriter behind the 1979 hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," died on Monday, July 5. He was 83.

His publicists revealed the details surround the southern rock and country icon's death. It said that Daniels had a hemorrhagic stroke in Hermitage, Tennessee. He later passed away in a Nashville hospital.

Together with his Charlie Daniels Band, the multi-instrumentalist has been credited with popularizing the fiddle and turning it into a signature instrument for both country and southern rock music. Daniels was later inducted to the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2008, he became a member of the Tennessee-based Grand Ole Opry. While Daniels was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, he later moved to Nashville, TN.

Charlie Daniels was inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.

"The country music flag is flying at half-mast today."

Fellow country artists have shared their memories and tributes to the late icon. Country singer-songwriter Luke Combs, who popularized "Beer Never Broke My Heart," took to Twitter on Monday. "The country music flag is flying at half mast today. RIP Charlie Daniels," Combs wrote.

Country and gospel music star Randy Travis remembers Daniels as "one of the finest gentlemen" he ever knew. The "Three Wooden Crosses" artist added that Daniels "will live on forever as my hero... my friend. I love you."

Country duo Maddie & Tae also paid respects to the late musician. "Rest In Peace to one of the greatest. It was an honor getting to meet Mr. Charlie Daniels years back at the @opry," a statement on their Twitter page read.

While Trace Adkins warned that meeting your heroes because "more often than not, they disappoint you," he said that "Charlie was the exception."

The Start of a Six-Decade Career

By the time Daniels finished high school back in 1955, Daniels was already a multi-instrumentalist. He was skilled with the guitar, mandolin, banjo, and his signature fiddle. In 1964, he co-wrote the Elvis Presley single "It Hurts Me" with his friend and record producer Bob Johnston.

Daniels was also a session player for three of Bob Dylan's albums released between 1969 and 1970. By the following year, he released his self-titled solo debut album. He made his first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Uneasy Rider." The novelty song appeared in his 1973 album "Honey in the Rock."

Daniels was best-known for the 1979 hit "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." It was an uptempo bluegrass country song that narrates the Devil's failed attempt to gain Johnny's soul through a fiddle-playing contest.

A year later, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" was featured in the 1980 romance-western film Urban Cowboy. Since then, the song has inspired several parodies and covers. One parody, "The Devil Went Down to Jamaica," shifted the wager from a fiddle-playing contest to a pot-smoking one, with Johnny becoming a Jamaican dealer.

Daniels' uptempo hit was also featured on the 2007 video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The version heard in the game was covered by rock guitarist Steve Ouimette. Daniels himself was opposed to his song's use for the game's final boss battle since the game opens the possibility of the Devil beating the player. Daniels said that it would "violate the very essence of the song."

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Charlie Daniels, Maddie & Tae, Death