The nineteen tracks features all-star collaborations
There’s not quite like a Charlie Daniels song. The man was the ultimate patriot who sang about freedom, religion and life until his unexpected passing last July due to a hemorrhagic stroke at the age of 83. His new project, Charlie Daniels & Friends – Duets, wraps up a 62 year career that compiles all of his collaborations into a single album.
I’ve been a country fan for 30 years and must shamefully admit that I didn’t know many of these collaborations existed, although the majority of these tracks appear on his 2007 Deuces duets album. I didn’t begin to appreciate Daniels’ music until many years later, as I grew older, and began to dig into more of his catalog.
His signature hits “Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye,” “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” and “Long Haired Country Boy” all appear as duets, with “Country Boy” appearing twice, once with Brooks & Dunn and the other with John Berry and the late Hal Ketchum. Sadly, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” isn’t featured, but I’m not sure a duet remake was ever needed as there are plenty of cover versions released over the years, including by Korn and Nickelback in 2020 alone.
The 19 track Duets features Daniels singing and pickin’ with a slew of top-notch stars including Dolly Parton, Brooks & Dunn, Darius Rucker, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Garth Brooks, Brenda Lee, Gretchen Wilson, Marty Stuart, and more. The first 13 tracks are from Deuces with the others taken from later recordings. Tritt and Montgomery Gentry are featured twice.
Some stand out tracks include “All Night Long” with Montgomery Gentry — which originally appeared as the closing track on their 1999 debut Tattoos & Scars, “Waco” with Garth Brooks and both versions of “Long Hair Country Boy,” one with Brooks & Dunn and the other with John Berry and the late Hal Ketchum. The physical edition is only available through Walmart while available at all digital retailers.
Releasing a duets album as the first posthumous release is a great tribute to the fiddle playing southern rock superstar. He was well loved by all with his gentle giant personality who loved God, his country, family and his fans. He was extremely outspoken, regularly expressing his thoughts through his favorite platform — Twitter.
After his death last year, son Charlie Daniels Jr. announced a new direction to preserve his father’s legacy. Daniels’ longtime company, CDB, Inc. became Charlie Daniels Brand, Inc. that will focus on product branding and licensing, various legacy projects, as well as official CDB merchandise.
Next month, Daniels will be honored at 2021 Volunteer Jam: A Musical Salute to Charlie Daniels, set to take place on August 18th at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The salute to Daniels will include performances by Travis Tritt, The Marshall Tucker Band, Chris Janson, Charley Pride, Larry, Steve & Rudy: The Gatlin Brothers, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Cowboy Troy, Delbert McClinton, Keb’ Mo’, The Outlaws, 38 Special, The Allman Betts Band, Cedric Burnside, Jenny Tolman, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Travis Denning, Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee, Rhett Akins, Scooter Brown Band, The SteelDrivers, Pure Prairie League and comedian Dusty Slay. Daniels’ longtime band, The Charlie Daniels Band, will also perform to honor their legendary frontman.
