At 81 years old, with 42 (studio, live, compilation, country/rock and gospel) albums, four published books and a fifth one (a novel) on the way, plus six decades of making music, Country Music Hall of Famer and icon Charlie Daniels still does what he guesses to be close to 300 interviews a year while touring his band across the country. He has 52 official dates left this year.
"Every year when we come back and we decide what we're going to play, it's not ever a problem of what to play, it's what not to play because we've had so many songs over the years," Daniels says. But he knows what his audience wants, and his only goal is to entertain his fans. "People come to see you to hear the songs [played] on the radio; your new stuff, they don't know anything about. I think it's self indulgent for a band to leave a bunch of the songs that people have come to see them for out to try to sell everybody their [new] album. I don't do that.
FAQ
The Charlie Daniels Band
WHEN — 7 p.m. May 10
WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville
COST — $39-$75
INFO — 443-5600, waltonartscenter.org
"I mean, we have some interesting things to play for people, but not at the expense of 'Long Haired Country Boy' or 'The Legend of Wooley Swamp' or 'In America,' or something that somebody's sitting out there saying, 'You gotta play that.' My philosophy about that has not changed; it's still entertainment -- that's the name of the game. It's not just playing music, it's entertaining people. So that's what we're about the whole time we're on stage is entertaining people."
Part of that entertainment comes in his interactions with the audience -- sharing stories on his song Elvis Presley recorded or about working with Bob Dylan, or the history behind a tune. But above even these and other incredible moments from his career -- above the awards and the professional and charitable achievements -- Daniels' proudest accomplishment is what has manifested behind the scenes as the result of a successful career.
"That's easy -- keeping 30 people steadily and gainfully employed for 40 years. Some of these people have grown up in my employment. I watched them get married, we've had births and deaths, and everything that happens in society of course happens here. There's people in the band, there's people in the office, my ranch manager's been with me for almost 40 years now -- they're like your family, these people. You know them. Night after night, you know you can depend on 'em. I mean, they've always got your back; you always got people there that really care about you. So that's a big deal to me -- it's like taking care of my family. I take that very seriously."
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" singer takes a few other things seriously -- his patriotism, his writing, which he thoroughly enjoys -- but entertaining people with music "always has been, always will be" his main business. Making his Walton Arts Center debut May 10, Daniels admits in his deep, warm drawl that he especially looks forward to shows in states where he can get a particularly favored breakfast item.
"You just tell err'body we're looking forward to gettin' back to Arkansas and to save me a bowl of grits when I get 'der, OK?"
NAN What's Up on 05/06/2018