NASHVILLE,
TN - Living in Nashville has its advantages. Regular MND
readers know that this writer has been working at a horse ranch, and
has not submitted an article for quite awhile. (Not the same ranch
mentioned in the article, “I’ve
roped a new job”.) But, one of the advantages of living in Nashville
is being in contact with famous people that do newsworthy things.
One of those people is “rockabilly” music star Charlie Daniels. (The term
“rockabilly” was inspired by
Johnny Cash, whose overall musical style — although largely country
— was also difficult to place under other existing labels.)
Having recently returned from a trip to entertain American troops in Europe, Daniels made time in his busy schedule for an exclusive telephone interview with MensNewsDaily. Charlie called recently from a tour stop in Hickory, North Carolina. Before this year ends, the Charlie Daniels Band will play at least a hundred regular concerts, plus two “Spirit of America” shows at military bases. One of those will be at Dyess AFB, Texas — not far from the ranch of President George W. Bush.
Charlie Daniels has long been a well-known name in the “blended” world between country music and rock & roll. It has been more than thirty years since his hit “Uneasy Rider” simultaneously bridged the gaps between rock, country, and comedy. That song put Charlie Daniels on the national music scene, although he had already been a session musician for other well-known artists. True to his Southern roots, Daniels has long been outspoken about his love for America, and his chosen home state of Tennessee. (He was born and raised in North Carolina, toured his first band in Texas, then moved to Tennessee to solidify his music career.)
The love affair seems to be mutual. There is a park named after him in his home city of Mount Juliet, TN, and there is a Charlie Daniels Boulevard leading up to it. And, the Adjutant General of Tennessee recently made Air National Guard transportation available to the Charlie Daniels Band, so that they could travel to military posts in Europe to provide entertainment and moral support to our troops.
Major General Gus Hargett said, “We are extremely pleased that we were able to put this trip together. Charlie is a Tennessee icon, and it was great to see what a morale boost it was for our soldiers. Charlie literally spent hours talking, signing autographs, and posing for photos with these soldiers, and I can’t thank him enough for what he has done and for his support of the Tennessee National Guard. He is a true Tennessee Volunteer in the finest sense of the word.” More than 1,300 members of the Army and Air National Guard from Tennessee are currently deployed overseas.
Obviously, the tour was attended by troops from places other than Tennessee. And, while troops went to see Daniels in concert, Daniels also went to see the troops — especially in hospitals. Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Kaiserslautern, Germany, is the first stop for soldiers returning with wounds sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan. Daniels spent over three house visiting patients there.
Daniels stated as he left Germany, on the 7th of May, “I wish everybody in our country could come over here and spend an hour walking around, talking to those kids to find out what true patriotism is all about.” He cited the example of a soldier that had been shot in the arm, but still wanted to stay in the action with his unit. Daniels explained that intense enthusiasm was a common thread among those he spoke with, “… because all they could talk about was, ‘I want to go back downrange’.”
During our phone conversation, Daniels went into further detail about the visits. And, his commentary also went a bit further. “I saw a kid with his leg shot off below the knee, and another one that earned two Purple Hearts in the same day. I saw examples of courage, patriotism, and high morale.” Then, Daniels went on to say, “I wish that Peter Jennings would walk through that hospital, and report on the positive things. He could walk through there any time, if he wanted to, but he won’t.”
The Charlie Daniels Band performed on Wednesday, 05 May, at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo. (Unfortunately, we still have troops in the Balkans. See a previous article to explain how we got involved in a three-sided religious war — thanks to Bill Clinton, of course.) Then, on Thursday, 06 May, the band performed at Wiesbaden Army Airfield in Germany. More than 2,000 soldiers and family members braved cold rain to listen to the Charlie Daniels Band’s unique mixture of rock, country, and gospel music. And, the concert at Wiesbaden was broadcast live via Armed Forces Radio to over 56 countries.
The enduring popularity of Charlie Daniels and his band is due not only to his straightforward music and lyrics, but also to his straightforward opinions. Daniels is an unabashed patriot and supporter of our military. The feeling is apparently mutual, given that Daniels has been invited many times to play to exclusive military audiences, has been given rides in fighter jets, etc. Daniels began his association with the military early in his musical career, when he played a concert in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The concert had a large presence of Marines from Camp Lejune. The rest is history.
Some of Charlie Daniels’ comments about politics have made history, too. The “mainstream” media gave significant coverage to the squabble between Daniels and Peter Jennings, after Jennings was able to prevent Daniels from appearing at a concert event broadcast by PBS. His open letter to a PBS executive got a lot of news time.
But, far less attention has been given to the open letter that Charlie Daniels wrote to Jane Fonda. The letter may be found on page 193 of his book, Ain’t No Rag — Freedom, Family, and the Flag. The book eloquently addresses the conversion of Jane Fonda to Christianity. That is an event that many Christians, especially those with a military background, have had difficulty understanding. With solid theology, and psychology, Daniels explains that the change to Christianity — especially for someone from the Hollywood Left — can be expected to foster resistance and ridicule from former friends. Daniels goes on to explain how he views Fonda’s activities in Vietnam, and defines a key difference between crime and sin. The letter ends with this poignant statement, “Welcome to the family, my sister.” (The letter should be required reading in every school — including Sunday School — in America.)
No conversation with Charlie Daniels would be complete without some pointed political discussion. This one was no different.
Charlie was especially bothered by the recent remarks of US Senator Ted Kennedy, who denounced the recent scandal at Abu Ghraib Prison by comparing President George W. Bush with Adolph Hitler. “That was a stupid, loutish comment by someone that should not even be in the United States Senate.” Not only was Daniels concisely on-target, but it was refreshing to hear someone correctly use the word “loutish”. (Like fellow commentator G. Gordon Liddy, I abhor rusty grammar, and applaud the proper and energetic use of language.)
Daniels went on to explain, “I’m neither a Democrat nor a Republican — although a lot of people think that I’m a Republican. But, the comments of Senator Kennedy, especially during time of war, are irresponsible. When will the good people of Massachusetts come to their senses, and put an end to his political career?”
[NOTE: This writer is also neither a Democrat nor a Republican, and my views are quite similar to those of Charlie Daniels. When I lived in Upstate NY, I was an executive of the Conservative Party. Having been in Tennessee for almost three years, I’ve stayed out of direct political involvement — until recently. I’m now active with the Constitution Party, and would encourage others to do likewise in their home states. Although the term “third party” is bandied about frequently, there are actually more than 400 minor political parties in the United States.]
Daniels deep-down patriotism stems from an upbringing in a strategic area during World War Two. When he first told me this, I was taken aback, because his drive and energy exceed most people his age. (He was born in 1936.) Daniels recalls that oil tankers were sunk by Nazi submarines of the coast of his native Wilmington, NC, and that his family used to collect salvage metal for the war effort. (In an under-reported fact about that era, the Civil Air Patrol actually sank two Nazi submarines off the American coastline, and sighted 143 others to be confronted by the US Navy or Coast Guard.)
Patriotism is the theme of Daniels’ latest album, Freedom and Justice for All. The hour-long CD inspires deep emotions (bring a hankie!). The recitation “My Beautiful America” sets the tone. Most modern program directors probably won’t put it on the radio, but it should be required airplay on every morning show in America. The album ends with a haunting fiddle rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, with an orchestral background. It cannot be adequately described in the printed word.
That patriotism was the emotional fuel of our interview. Commenting on radical Islam and Mideast terrorism, Daniels said, “You can’t pacify these people. They don’t think like us. It’s a totally different culture, with totally different values. When will these anti-war protesters wake up and realize that?”
About other countries, and their reaction to the War Against Terrorism, “We won’t have France, or Germany, or Russia helping us — until they’re attacked.”
Considering his above comment that Ted Kennedy should no longer be in the US Senate, MensNewsDaily asked Charlie Daniels about the other senator from Massachusetts. “John Kerry — who is he? Nobody knows who he is, because he keeps changing every day. I thought that Bill Clinton was the worst president of my lifetime, but at least he had some charisma. If Kerry is elected, people will perceive America as weak, because he wants to let the United Nations run everything.”
About the United Nations, “We know that the UN lied to us about the oil-for-food program. How do we know that they didn’t lie to us about the weapon inspections in Iraq? If I had my way, we would boot the United Nations out of this country tomorrow, and turn that big building in New York into a homeless shelter.”
Charlie’s comments returned to the current War Against Terrorism, and the fact that the “mainstream” news media gives an inordinate amount of news time to the anti-war protesters, while ignoring the positive aspects of our involvement in Iraq. As usual, he didn’t mince any words, “Everybody just shut up! Let’s have a clear-cut victory. Then, if you want to have an investigation or something, let’s do it with our troops on the safe side of the ocean.”
Shortly after he rose to the national scene in music, Charlie Daniels organized a now-annual concert event called Volunteer Jam. (Thus, he earned the nickname “Jam Daddy”.) He has volunteered many times to go into far-flung areas to entertain our troops. Whether “over there” or here, he has no problem volunteering his opinion. To echo the comment from General Hargett, Charlie Daniels is a true Tennessee Volunteer.
