Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, Charlie Daniels moved to many North Carolina towns during his childhood as his father looked for work. Chatham County’s claim to Daniels comes from his teen years spent in Gulf, an unincorporated community in Chatham County. 

     Daniels’ first band was formed during his time at Goldston High School. He and a few friends started The Misty Mountain Boys, paying homage to Earl Scruggs' Foggy Mountain Boys. After his 1955 graduation from Goldston High School, he moved briefly to Sanford in neighboring Lee County to work for an electronics company as a laborer. Soon after, Daniels moved back to Wilmington and the Misty Mountain Boys broke up. 

     Eventually Daniels found himself playing in clubs in Jacksonville, North Carolina with the Jaguars, his new rock’n’roll band. During this time, Daniels was also writing songs. His most notable from this period was “It Hurts Me” recorded by Elvis Presley in 1964. This time period also covered Daniels’ marriage to his wife, Hazel, and birth of his first born, Charles William.

     Daniels then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, leaving the Jaguars behind. In Nashville, he worked as a session player. Notable albums he participated in during this period include Flatt & Scruggs's Nashville Airplane, Ringo Star's Beaucoups of Blues, Bob Dylan's albums Nashville Skyline, New Morning and Self Portrait. Daniels also worked as a producer for the folk-rock band, The Youngbloods, during this period.

     1970 marked the first incarnation of The Charlie Daniels Band. The Charlie Daniels Band (self titled) was released in 1971. In 1973, the band's third album, Honey in Rock, proved to be their biggest success thus far with the hit single, “Uneasy Rider.” 

     The band’s fourth studio album, Fire on the Mountain, achieved national success. During this period, Daniels also founded Volunteer Jam concerts, an annual concert highlighting country and southern rock artists. 

     The band’s national success led to their help promoting Democrat Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign. Charlie Daniels was not alone in his mission to help Carter. Known as the “rock and roll president,” Carter used music to expand his political influence and kept many musicians in his inner circle. Daniels was joined in his support and friendship with Carter with other artists like Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and the Bee Gees. 

     The Charlie Daniels Band’s largest success occurred with their later album, Million Mile Reflections, which went triple platinum and was 1979’s number one country album. Million Mile Reflections included Daniel’s largest single, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which went platinum, won a Grammy and was featured in the 1980 film, Urban Cowboy.

     In response to this success, Daniel’s was named the Country Music Awards’ 1979 Musician of the Year. The Academy of Country Music (ACM) also named The Charlie Daniels Band Touring Band of the Year in both 1979 and 1980.

     The band’s next album, Full Moon, also went platinum. However, this success was not felt by the band again until 1989 with Simple Man, an album that would become the number two country album of the year.

     During the 90s, the band produced Christian music which did not receive the same national attention. In 1997, Daniels founded his own publishing company, Blue Hat Records.

     In 1997, Daniels was honored with the ACM’s Pioneer Award. In 1999, he was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. From 2001 to 2011, Nashville hosted a museum dedicated to Daniels’ legacy. In 2005, Daniels played Super Bowl XXXIX with Lynyrd Skynyrd. In 2008, he became a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry with the Opry hosting his 75th birthday party in 2001. 

     Daniels passed away at 83 on July 6, 2020 in Tennessee leaving behind a music legacy combining many different genres such as bluegrass, country, rock and jazz with ties to Chatham County and North Carolina as a whole.