Charlie Daniels Music Sees Big Boost After Passing

Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Daniels died unexpectedly at the age of 83 on Monday, July 6th after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke. A titan of American music, Charlie Daniels started his career on the outside looking into the mainstream as a long-haired fiddle player who identified with Southern rednecks and anti-war hippies alike during the Vietnam era, and went onto become a member of the Grand Ole Opry, a firebrand conservative, and a worldwide ambassador of fiddle music universally recognized for his American classic, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”

After the passing of Charlie Daniels, his music experienced a spike in interest. His signature song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” went from not charting at all to #24 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, as mourning fans downloaded and streamed the song in remembrance. It also charted at #2 on the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart, only held out of the top spot by a massive spike in downloads for Lee Greenwood’s patriotic anthem “God Bless The U.S.A.,” boosted by 4th of July revelers.

“The Devil Went Down to Georgia” was streamed well over 2 million times during the reporting period, and sold nearly 23,000 downloads. The song originally hit #1 in country when it was first released in 1979, and also spent two weeks at #3 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. Daniels co-wrote the song with members of his Charlie Daniels Band.

Also seeing a boost on the week was the most popular compilation from Charlie Daniels. The Columbia Nashville-issued album 16 Biggest Hits shot up to #12 on the Billboard Country Albums chart this week. Songs from the album were streamed over 5.2 million times during the reporting period, and it sold a total of 8,700 copies in physical sales and streaming/download equivalents.

Charlie Daniels was laid to rest on Friday, July 10th at Mt. Juliet Memorial Gardens in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee after a funeral service where Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Gretchen Wilson and Trace Adkins all performed.

© 2023 Saving Country Music