If you are a true country fan, then you know The Charlie Daniels Band and their arguably most popular song, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.” I also consider, “The South’s Gonna Do It Again,” and “Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues,” to be staples for the true Charlie Daniels Band connoisseur along with my personal favorite, “The Legend Of Wooley Swamp.” Recently inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame, Charlie Daniels also turns 80 next week. With a career spanning literally decades, did I mention that he still does at least 100 shows a year? We got the chance to talk with Charlie Daniels this morning and try to find out where he gets all that energy from.
Charlie Daniels On Touring At 80
Eat Play Rock: First off, congratulations on your induction into the Country Music Hall Of Fame.
Charlie Daniels: Thank you. I am very humbled by this honor and not blasé about it at all. I feel like I left the Little Leagues and then went straight to the World Series and hit it out of the park.
Eat Play Rock: That is a great way to describe it. Your birthday is in one week {he will be 80 years old}. Happy early birthday, by the way! And you are still doing 100+ shows a year. Where do you get all your energy from?
Charlie Daniels: Well, this isn’t an anomaly for me. I have been doing this since, I assume, way before you were born –Editor’s note: I will be 40 this year so he is correct 🙂. We started in 1958. The bus is our 2nd home aside from Nashville. My wife travels with me all the time and we watch TV and we go to sleep and wake up in a different place each day. Then we exercise in the morning. I play like 3 hours a day, so it’s not like working 8 hours a day swinging a sledgehammer.
Eat Play Rock: So, you mentioned TV. Do you and your wife have shows you watch together or do you watch alone and what do you like to watch?
Charlie Daniels: On Saturday and Sunday, I like to watch football and she watches her thing. We have two different TVs and satellite.
Eat Play Rock: So, who do you like in football?
Charlie Daniels: I am a Tennessee Vols fan. I also like the Tennessee Titans or any of the Southeast Conference teams. I also like the Carolina teams like the Tarheels.
Editor’s Note: I went to Appalachian State {in North Carolina} so I am going to choose to assume Charlie Daniels likes the Mountaineers, too, since he said Carolina. 😉
Eat Play Rock: Where did you find your “obscure” songs for your new album, Night Hawk?
Charlie Daniels: It was a process that goes back about 10 years. I always wanted to make an album like this so, when I found a song that I wanted to include, I earmarked it for later, until I got an album of material. It’s about real cowboys – not the shootout at the OK Corral kind – but the kind that actually herd cattle.
Eat Play Rock: So, tell me a little about Volunteer Jam. Do you do this every year?
Charlie Daniels: No, we don’t do it every year. We decide yearly. We did do it last year, though, and this year is the 42nd anniversary. It started as a live recording session in 1974. We started with 2,200 seats and the next year it went up to 13,000 seats.
Eat Play Rock: How about the bands? How do you choose who to have each year?
Charlie Daniels: We change it up from year to year. Travis Tritt is back from last year, but the rest are new.
Eat Play Rock: For those who want to pick up your new album, where is the best place to get it?
Charlie Daniels: You should be able to get it in your local store, but if you can not, you can get it on our website CharlieDaniels.com.
Where To Catch Charlie Daniels
For the locals, Charlie Daniels will be at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, NC, on Sunday {October 23rd}. You can check out the rest of his tour schedule here.
Volunteer Jam will be November 30th and you can get more info about that here. Guests this year include Travis Tritt, Three Doors Down, Luke Bryan, Kid Rock, Chris Stapleton, Larry the Cable Guy and more. A portion of the proceeds from the Volunteer Jam will help benefit The Journey Home Project.
Visiting Nashville soon? The Country Music Hall Of Fame currently has Million Mile Reflections on showcase. This exhibit, that honors Charlie Daniels, will be open through March 2017.
I had no idea Charlie Daniels was 80! What a freaking rock (ok, country) star!! I watched Urban Cowboy recently and cranked up the TV when he came on. Love that song.
So fun to read and interview with him. I didn’t even know who he was till know, that goes to show what kind of music I don’t listen to! Lol
I LOVE Charlie Daniels and The Devil Went Down to Georgia. A family favorite!!
I don’t know Charlie Daniels, but touring at 80 is a huge feat. How cool, and amazing! Definitely enjoyed reading a little bit about him!
WOW! What an honor for Charlie Daniels on the Country Music Hall Of Fame. Love the interview.
Great interview! I had no idea he was that old. Way to go for keeping the music playing for that long! Don’t see that much.
It must have been so exciting to interview a country star. I’m not into country music, still, he is a legend.
He is such an amazing performer! What an incredible life to live!
Very interesting interview, didn’t know who he was until now. Off to youtube to check.
What a Bucketlist experience to get to interview such an esteemed living legend! I am logging on to YouTube right now to catch up on all his stuff!
I think lifelong musicians are great! But I wonder, don’t they get bored of playing the same songs for years and years and years and years?
Such an interesting interview! Gonna go check him out on youtube!
I am a big fan of Charlie’s. I remember thinking how handsome he was, then my dad telling me that they were the same age. You should have seen my face (horror). The story lives on!
I am so excited for the new Charlie Daniels Band album. This is a great interview.
The Devil Went Down To Georgia is one of my favorite songs. I am so excited to hear the new album. He must have a ton of energy to tour at 80.
This is a great interview. I look forward to the new album. Touring at 80 must be thrilling.
Whoa! I can’t imagine having the energy to do 100 shows myself, let alone at the age of 80. That’s amazing! Charlie has such a great legacy of music to be proud of. 🙂
Touring at 80 and does 100 shows in a year is incredible! It must be exciting to get a chance to interview him.
I am really excited for their new album. Such a goo interview.
Ooh I love this song! I had no idea he was 80 years old! I should introduce my kids to this song! It’s such a good one!
I admire musician who continue to create music as they age, that is just simply amazing! I love that he’s touring and that he’s also releasing a new album. I hope everything goes well during his tour. He really has made a lot of achievements throughout the years!
I am a lot younger than Charlie but I can’t imagine doing 100 shows per year, but then again I am not an entertainer like him! That’s amazing! He proves that music is not something you retire from. It’s a lifelong art.
How amazing to be touring at 80! How does he keep up the energy! I love them, that is so cool that you got to interview them.