Charles Edward Daniels was born on October 28, 1936 in Wilmington, North Carolina. He began writing and performing in the 1950's. In addition to country music, he performed rock and jazz.
In 1964, Daniels sold a song It Hurts Me to Elvis Presley. Daniels recorded his first solo album, Charlie Daniels, in 1970. His first hit, Uneasy Rider, came off his 1972 second album, Honey in the Rock. In 1974, Daniels organized the first in a series of Volunteer Jam concerts. Daniels won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal in 1979 for Devil Went Down to Georgia. Other Daniels' hits include In America, The South's Gonna Do It, Long Haired Country Boy, Still in Saigon, and The Legend of Wooley Swamp.
Daniels was an early supporter of Jimmy Carter's Presidential bid and performed at his inauguration. In 2003, Daniels published an Open Letter to the Hollywood Bunch in defense of George Bush's Iraqi policy.