The Grand Ole Opry honored the life and legacy of Charlie Daniels during its recent Saturday evening show. The show was helmed by the Gatlin Brothers, and included performances by both Jimmie Allen and Margo Price.
“Since we’ve been with you folks last, we’ve lost some members of our family,” Larry Gatlin said, acknowledging both Charlie and longtime Opry member Jimmy Capps, before launching into a song called “Heaven’s Jubilee.” “I told people, I would follow Charlie Daniels into battle. I would not follow him on stage because I can’t, and nobody else can. Brother Steve and brother Rudy used to sing a song — we’ve sung this at more of our Gatlin family funerals, and someday they’ll sing it at ours.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYnS9nKuULQ
The Opry also spoke out about the loss of the Country Music Hall of Fame member.
“There’s a Charlie Daniels quote reading ‘The best of America is sitting in those Opry seats tonight’ on a wall backstage here at the Grand Ole Opry House,” Dan Rogers, Vice President and Executive Producer of the Grand Ole Opry said in a statement. “The best of America was also on the Opry stage when Charlie Daniels stepped in that circle. I know Charlie’s long, very full life and award-winning career were about so much more than ‘The Devil Went Down To Georgia,’ but I have to say I have never seen a more surefire live performance hit than when that beloved man would stand on the Opry stage, hold his fiddle bow high, and launch into that iconic song.
“Whether you were in the front row or the nosebleeds and whether you were from Mt. Juliet, New Zealand, or somewhere in between, you were on your feet by the song’s end,” he continued. “Guaranteed. Every single time. We’re going to miss that so much. To know that those thrilling moments don’t even begin to scratch the surface of the way Charlie changed lives makes his leaving us that much more difficult to comprehend. The Opry was so proud to call Charlie family, and we think of all those he loved during this terribly sad time.”
Later in the hour-long show, the Gatlin Brothers dedicated one of their songs, “Help Me,” to the Daniels family.
“We want to sing it especially for Hazel, Charlie Jr. “And this is for you too, friends and neighbors. We’re all going through stuff right now, and we might need a little help.”
Charlie passed away on Monday, July 6, after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke. He was 83 years old when he died, and is survived by his wife, Hazel, and son, Charlie Daniels, Jr. The country music legend was honored with a funeral service on Friday, July 10, which included performances by Vince Gill, Gretchen Wilson, Travis Tritt and Trace Adkins.
On Saturday, July 18, Vince Gill and Reba McEntire will perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Find details at Opry.com.