Charlie Daniels was born in Wilmington, N.C., and raised on a musical diet that included Pentecostal gospel, local bluegrass bands and the rhythm & blues and country music from Nashville's 50,000-watt radio stations WLAC and WSM.

He graduated from high school in 1955. Already skilled on guitar, fiddle and mandolin, Daniels formed a rock 'n' roll band and hit the road.

Daniels broke through as a record maker himself with 1973's hit hippie song "Uneasy Rider." His rebel anthems "Long Haired Country Boy" and "The South's Gonna Do It" propelled his 1975 collection Fire on the Mountain to double-platinum status. In the summer of 1979, Daniels rewarded Epic Records' faith by delivering "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," which became a platinum single, topped both country and pop charts, won a Grammy Award, earned three CMA trophies, became a cornerstone of the Urban Cowboy movie soundtrack and propelled Daniel's Million Mile Reflections album to triple- platinum sales levels.

Daniels' annual Volunteer Jam concerts, world famous musical extravaganzas that served as a prototype for many of today's annual day-long music marathons, always featured a variety of current stars and heritage artists and are considered by historians as his most impressive contribution to Southern music.