It was mid-morning yesterday when I heard that Charlie Daniels passed away at the age of 83 from a stroke.

I remember as a kid listening to the radio and getting all excited when The Devil Went Down to Georgia came on. I don't remember if I bought the 45 or if one of my siblings had the 45, but I know I played it at least a hundred times. I remember being disappointed if the radio played the son-of-a-gun version instead of the son-of-a-bitch version.

I remember when the song In America came out in 1980 I ran right out and bought that 45 after hearing it for the first time on the radio. That was another of my favorite songs from Charlie. As I got older I started to dig deeper into Charlie's catalog. He had a bunch of awesome southern rock songs like Long Haired Country Boy, The Legend of Wooley Swamp, and The South's Gonna Do It Again to name a few.

Charlie had a great sense of humor too. He proved that in one of the all time greatest Geico commercials. Remember that? You can see that below.

On September 22nd. 2018 Charlie Daniels played at Tags in Big Flats with the Marshall Tucker Band and the Outlaws. Chris and I, along with our friends Doug and Lisa, their son Derek, and their friend (and now our friend) Holly all piled in my SUV and drove out there to see the show.

Prior to going to that show, I had only seen Charlie play fiddle on video, never in person. After seeing him live, I can honestly say all of those videos, not one of them did him justice. He put on an incredible show that night at the age of 82. I'm so glad

I went to see him in concert when I did because if I didn't, I never would have had a chance to see him.

Rest in peace Charlie.

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