He began his solo career on Capitol Records in 1971, but his releases there and on Kama Sutra Records between 1972-74 failed to click in a major way. In ’74 he began a long-term association with Epic Records, and the label successfully marketed him to Southern rock fans, who knew Daniels for his side work with the Marshall Tucker Band. The institution of Volunteer Jam helped make the Charlie Daniels Band one of country’s top touring attractions of the ‘70s.
Daniels scored less regularly on the country and pop singles charts following his peak years of 1979-82, but “Simple Man” hit a final peak of No. 2 on the country albums list in 1989.
He branched into the gospel market with “The Door” on Sparrow Records in 1994, and established his own imprint, Blue Hat Records, in 1997. In the new millennium he worked for such indie labels as Audium, Koch and Megaforce.
In keeping with the tenor of his latter-day political and patriotic pronouncements — which he aired on Twitter and in the “Soap Box” section of his official web site — Daniels published his self-explanatory “Ain’t No Rag: Freedom, Family, and the Flag” in 2003.
His memoir “Never Look at the Empty Seats” appeared in 2017; “Let’s All Make the Day Count:The Everyday Wisdom of Charlie Daniels” was published in 2018.
He is survived by his wife Hazel and son Charlie Jr.