Charlie Daniels: Doin' OK

'Long-haired country boy' musician releases first live album

Many of Charlie Daniels' songs, including "In America," strike a patriotic chord.

By Alesia Stanford
Special to CNN

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Longtime performer Charlie Daniels has a message for America: "We're doin' OK," he says.

The fiddler who's been crossing the country for more than 30 years, playing everything from state fairs to arenas, admits his audience is somewhat concerned about safety and the future after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, and he addresses it during every performance.

"I just tell people, you know, we need to take care of business and get this out of the way," he said. "I know what's on your mind, I know what's on my mind, I know what's on every good American's mind, and I usually tell people I've been across this country since then, I've traveled a lot, I've been in a lot of places, and we're in good shape."

AUDIO In America   VIDEO Country legend Charlie Daniels is promoting a live album in the United States. Daily News from Entertainment Weekly's Alesia Stanford reports (November 9) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

The self-described "long-haired country boy" is promoting his first live album, "The Live Record."

The first single is a rerelease of a tune called "In America." The lyrics seem as timely -- and outspoken -- now as they did in 1980, when the song was recorded as a response to the Iranian hostagecrisis: "This lady may have stumbled, but she ain't never fell/And if our enemies don't believe that, they can all go straight to hell."

"People are very patriotic and very together. It's probably the most united this country's been in 50 years," said Daniels, who often shares his thoughts on the radio with conservative talk-show host G. Gordon Liddy.

Controversy makes song a country hit

Daniels' outspokenness drew attention in October when he withdrew from the Country Freedom Concert in Nashville, Tennessee, which honored September 11 rescue workers.

Daniels planned to unveil a new single, "This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag," but concert organizers balked at the song's lyrics, which included "This ain't no rag it's a flag, and we don't wear it on our heads."

Daniels decided to bow out of the show altogether. "If the song is offensive, I figured my presence there also would be offensive," he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Daniels' music continues to defy any kind of easy labeling.

The controversy, however, helped make the song a hit on country radio and was added to versions of the live album available through Daniels' Web site, charliedaniels.com.

Rock, country and rap

Daniels isn't easy to pigeonhole. Among other things, the singer has been labeled the "godfather of rap." The tag stems from "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," a 1979 hit in which he speaks as much as he sings.

"All the stuff like that comes from an old form of music called 'talkin' blues' that has been around as long as I can remember," he said. "Instead of singin', you're talkin' something."

Though mostly associated with country music, Daniels said he doesn't like to wear any kind of label.

"I'll give you a little breakdown of our band," Daniels said. "We played with the Rolling Stones years ago in Memphis, Tennessee, in the afternoon and flew down to Austin, Texas, that night and worked the Willie Nelson picnic."

With that kind of track record, it's no wonder the Charlie Daniels Band continues to pack in a crowd.