One of the biggest stars in country music is dead at the age of 83.
Charlie Daniels, best known for “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” died after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke on Monday morning, according to publicist Don Grubbs. Daniels is survived by his wife, Hazel, and his son, Charlie Daniels Jr.
The country music legend, who was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, formed the Charlie Daniels Band in 1972 and found success with “Fire on the Mountain,” which achieved gold record status months after its release. Daniels, who was a singer, guitarist, and fiddler, joined the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
Daniels, who often performed with his eyes shut, charted 34 singles on Billboard’s country chart during his career and was seen by many aspiring country musicians as a role model.
In an interview with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, Daniels said his music found success because it cut against the grain of the mainstream country music industry.
“We were country but not what was accepted by the country music establishment at the time — certainly not what Nashville was putting out at the time,” Daniels said. “It was very much different from that. Every other music was changing and moving and cooking, and it was time for country to do that, too. And a song like ‘Long Haired Country Boy’ or ‘The South’s Going to Do It’ or ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’ kind of kicked it in the rear end a little bit.”
Daniels, who was an outspoken conservative, routinely commented on political events. In May, he called former FBI Director James Comey a “national disgrace” for his handling of the investigations into Hillary Clinton’s emails and President Trump’s 2016 campaign. Daniels tweeted “Benghazi ain’t going away” on Sunday night, hours before he died, referring to the controversy surrounding the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
