Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Daniels Dead of Stroke at 83 as Artists Pay Tribute

Karen Mizoguchi
·6 min read

Country music legend Charlie Daniels has died. He was 83.

The Country Music Hall of Fame, who was best known for his song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," died on Monday morning at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee. His cause of death was a hemorrhagic stroke.

The Grand Ole Opry member, who had a pacemaker placed in 2013, is survived by his wife Hazel and son Charlie Daniels, Jr.

Daniels began writing and playing music professionally in the 1950s. Over a decade later, he found success as a co-writer of Elvis Presley's 1964 hit "It Hurts Me."

Shortly after, Daniels was hired to play on albums by Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Marty Robbins, and in 1970, he released his first solo album, Charlie Daniels.

In 1972, he formed the Charlie Daniels Band and began the Southern rock festival called Volunteer Jam in 1974. This June, Daniels announced the rescheduling of the 2020 Volunteer Jam which was originally scheduled to take place on Sept. 15 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Due to coronavirus concerns, the event was rescheduled for Feb. 22, 2021.

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J. Kempin/Getty Charlie Daniels

Among his many accolades is a Grammy Award in 1979 for "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" as well as six total nominations, most recently in 2005 for best country instrumental performance for "I'll Fly Away." In addition, the Charlie Daniels Band has won awards from the Gospel Music Association, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music.

Daniels was also inducted into Hall of Fame in 2016, which was the same year the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum featured an exhibition titled Charlie Daniels: Million Mile Reflections with musical instruments, stage wear, manuscripts, awards, childhood mementos and previously unpublished photos from Daniels' personal collection to show the impact he had on country music.

In 2014, he founded The Journey Home Project, which he served as chairman, to help veterans of the United States Armed Forces.

Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days. In the meantime, fellow artists from Keith Urban and Wynonna to Brad Paisley and Trisha Yearwood paid tribute to the late country star: