The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has issued a statement on the tragic death of Charlie Daniels, who passed away on Monday, July 6, after suffering a stroke. Charlie was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016, along with Randy Travis and producer Fred Foster.

“Charlie Daniels was a reverential innovator. He was a fiddle-playing bandleader, like King of Country Music Roy Acuff. His music fused the immediacy of Southern Rock with the classic country storytelling that he heard as a child in Wilmington, North Carolina,” said Kyle Young, CEO, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “He brought new audiences to country music, pointing people to the sources even as he explored the edges. He was also a delight to be around, always with wife Hazel at his side. Just as fiddler Johnny did in the famous song, Charlie Daniels beat the Devil.”

Charlie often called being inducted into the prestigious hall the highlight of his career, and admitted during his acceptance speech that he struggled to find a way to adequately express his heartfelt appreciation.

“The grandiose words it would require to adequately describe the sea of gratitude and the mountain of honor I’m feeling tonight, simply do not exist in my vocabulary, and I’m not sure if the words to describe the emotions I’m feeling in my heart right now exist at all,” Charlie began his acceptance speech (via CNS News). “When I look around me at the images of those who I have admired, respected and emulated, whose very shoulders I stand on, and to think that I will be represented in that same manner and on those same walls, is a very humbling thought indeed.”

In his speech, Charlie acknowledged that the aspect of his career that gave him the most pride wasn’t any awards or accolades, but the people he was able to work with for decades.

“I’ve often been asked what is my most cherished accomplishment, and my answer never varies,” Charlie said. “It’s keeping 25 people gainfully and steadily employed for over 40 years. It’s been a great ride gang, and we’re still in the saddle. And it ain’t over by a long shot. Bring it on.”

“So, with the greatest respect for the past and the greatest aspirations for the future, as I humbly accept this indescribable honor desired by so many and attained by so few, I realize just how blessed I am,” Charlie concluded his speech.

Artists including Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, John Rich, Gretchen Wilson and more have been speaking out about his sudden death, offering touching tributes to the music icon. Charlie is survived by his wife, Hazel, and son, Charlie Daniels, Jr. Funeral services are pending.