THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND- “SOUTHERN ROCK BAND MOVING UP”

CHARLIE DANIELS PLAYING SOME COLORFUL GUITAR AT WINTERLAND IN 1976. PHOTO/ART BY BEN UPHAM.

THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND-
“SOUTHERN ROCK BAND MOVING UP”
BY BRUCE MEYER
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
NEWS JOURNAL
MANSFIELD, OHIO NOVEMBER 30, 1975

Charlie Daniels likes a lot of things. He likes the Tennessee hills east of Nashville, and Red Man chewing tobacco, and Acme cowboy boots, and extra-large blue jeans. He likes playing his guitar, a 1958 Gibson Les Paul best of all.

“Yeah, I enjoy playing”, he says, “If it wasn’t for being’ gone from mama and the baby I’d do it all the time But music’s secondary to them”.

Since Daniels and his hot Southern rock band spend about 250 days a year on the road, doing one-nighters in every conceivable kind of town and city (they put 8,000 miles on their new bus in the first three weeks they had it), you might say music is just barely secondary.

Charlie Daniels music is in the mainstream of Southern rock, powerful, rhythmic and built around long, jazz-like improvisations. The voice is strictly another instrument and regardless of the effort put into lyrics, they rank behind lengthy solos and the overall driving sound.

Southern bands enjoy jamming with one another and this intramural cross pollenization has distilled the music, until it resembles the fine Tennessee sippin’ whiskey of which Daniels is so fond.

And although the Charlie Daniels Band is not the most well known of the Southern bands (that honor likely would to to the Allman Brothers Band) it does seem to occupy a pivotal position.

Witness Daniels” famous “Volunteer Jam ” which seems to be turning into the major annual event of Southern music, attracting musicians from any number of other groups from the Allmans, Wet Willie, Marshall Tucker, Grinder Switch — even Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, for several hours of unlimited
powerplaying. In the middle of it all on stage is Daniels himself, first on guitar, then on fiddle with his stunning double-time version of “The Orange Blossom Special”. Charlie is always moving with an agility of feet and fingers startling in one with so much-uh… surplus flesh.

Keep an eye on the CDB — they could yet turn into the Next Big Thing from the South. It could be about their time.

CHARLIE DANIELS BAND DISCOGRAPHY:
1971 Charlie Daniels
1972 John, Grease and Wolfman
1973 Honey in the Rock
1974 Way Down Yonder
1974 Fire on the Mountain
1975 Nightrider
1976 Volunteer Jam
1976 Saddle Tramp
1976 High Lonesome
1977 Midnight Wind
1978 Volunteer Jam III and IV
1979 Million Mile Reflections
1980 Volunteer Jam VI
1980 Full Moon
1981 Volunteer Jam VII
1982 Windows
1983 A Decade of Hits
1985 Me and the Boys
1987 Powder Keg
1988 Homesick Heroes
1989 Simple Man
1990 Christmas Time Down South
1991 Renegade
1994 The Door
1995 Same Ol’ Me
1996 Steel Witness
1997 Blues Hat
1998 Fiddle Fire
1999 Tailgate Party
2000 Road Dogs
2001 Live!
2003 Freedom and Justice for All
2005 Songs from the Longleaf Pines
2007 Live from Iraq
2007 Deuces

CLICK LINKS BELOW TO SEE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND PHOTOS:
CHARLIE DANIELS BAND PHOTOS by BEN UPHAM
AND
CHARLIE DANIELS BAND FINE ART AMERICA IMAGES BY BEN UPHAM