Sideman career and first rock band Daniels began his music career as a member of the bluegrass band Misty Mountain Boys in the 1950s, already skilled on
guitar,
fiddle,
banjo, and
mandolin, In the 1960s, Daniels was performing
rock and roll. Daniels formed a band, the Rockets, who later changed its name to the Jaguars after scoring a hit single with the instrumental recording "Jaguar". Daniels lent his talents to the bass guitar playing, arrangement and co-production of a single, "Love" bw "
Black Olives" by
The Bad Boys which was released on the
Paula Records label in 1966. It became an R&B hit, first registering on the
Cash Box Top 50 in R&B Locations chart on 17 December 1966, and still active on the
Cash Box Looking Ahead chart 18 March 1967. where it peaked at no. 11. It also made the
Record World national R&B chart, peaking at no. 28 on 28 January. During his career as a rock and roll
sideman, Daniels also wrote songs for other performers. In July 1963,
soul singer Jerry Jackson recorded Daniels's song "
It Hurts Me"; the following year, on January 12, 1964,
Elvis Presley recorded the better-known recording of Daniels's song. The songwriting credits list Charles E. Daniels and Joy Byers as the songwriters, although Byers' husband, songwriter and producer
Bob Johnston, was the actual co-writer with Daniels. Dylan and Daniels found each other creatively invigorating during their recordings together, with Dylan saying that "when Charlie was around, something good would usually come out of the sessions", and Daniels describing the recording sessions with Dylan as "loose, free and, most of all, fun".
Solo career and formation of the Charlie Daniels Band Daniels released his
self-titled debut album in 1970, which helped lay the foundations for
Southern rock. The following year, Daniels organized the first
Volunteer Jam concert. It featured the single "
The Devil Went Down to Georgia", which reached No. 3 on the
Billboard Hot 100 in September 1979, and won Daniels the
Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance. Subsequently, the combination of the success of the more country-oriented song and the decline in popularity of Southern rock led Daniels to shift focus in his sound from rock to country music. because of lyrics such as "Just take them rascals [rapists, killers, child abusers] out in the swamp/Put 'em on their knees and tie 'em to a stump/Let the rattlers and the bugs and the alligators do the rest", which garnered Daniels considerable media attention and talk show visits.
Later career In the 1990s, Daniels's albums failed to chart, although he continued to draw audiences as a concert performer well into the 21st century. In 1999, Daniels was inducted into the
North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. The 21st century saw Daniels, who had previously recorded for major labels, predominantly recording for independent record labels. and began an association with
Koch Records, which began releasing a series of Daniels's albums which included holiday albums, live albums and theme compilations. The following year, Daniels played in the backup band for
Hank Williams Jr.'s opening sequence to
Monday Night Football. In November 2007, Daniels was invited to become a member of the
Grand Ole Opry. He was inducted during the January 19, 2008, edition of the Opry. In 2009, Daniels was featured playing fiddle in a commercial for
GEICO. In 2016, Daniels released
Night Hawks, an album of
Western swing music. In October of that year, Daniels became a member of
the Country Music Hall of Fame. In March 2017,
HarperCollins announced that Daniels's memoir,
Never Look at the Empty Seats, would be released on October 24, 2017. In the late 2010s, Daniels, drummer James Stroud, guitarist Billy Crain and bassist Charlie Hayward formed a new band, Beau Weevils, which debuted on the 2018 album
Songs in the Key of E, which Daniels described as being in a "down-home,
swampy rock meets
funk with a little taste of
Delta-type of style." On September 28, 2018, Daniels was awarded the MMP Music Award and inducted into the MMP Global Entertainment Hall of Fame in Biloxi, MS. On November 6, 2018, Daniels released a book of daily inspirational quotes and stories titled ''Let's All Make the Day Count: The Everyday Wisdom of Charlie Daniels'' through HarperCollins's
Thomas Nelson imprint. ==Musical style==