books
Never Look at the Empty Seats Charlie Daniels (Thomas Nelson)
I will never forget the first time I met Charlie Daniels. It was in the stair well at Spar- tanburg Memorial Audito- rium, June of 1977. I had just recently become a die-hard fan of the man, and when he
came clunking up those stairs as I was descend- ing, I was truly taken aback. He was a big man, and as I recall he was carrying two saddle bags and wearing a big ol’ Stetson cowboy hat and a huge grin. He spoke first, some sort of friendly down-home greeting. I said hi, but I was too star- struck to talk. It was the “Homecoming” concert for the
Marshall Tucker Band, and they were scheduled to play two shows with guests that included Charlie and Jaimoe from the Allman Brothers, with Marshall Chapman opening. His simple act of kindness endeared me
for life, long before I ever became a writer or a I was a fan for life. I tell ya, I honestly have no idea how many times I’ve gone to CDB concerts, Vol- unteer Jams, or the annual Angelus benefit weekends he heads up in Tampa, Florida. One thing I have discussed with friends
over the years is just how much I wish ol’ Charlie would put pen to paper and write his memoir. I am happy to say that he has done just that and the product of all of that writing is now available just in time for Christmas gift giving. And what a great gift it would be for any music lover. Charlie takes the reader on a journey from
his youth back in Wilmington, NC, to Nashville, TN and all points in between. He goes into detail about his early rock and roll bands, getting heav- ily into writing songs, working as a session musi- cian in Nashville (where he played on several Bob Dylan albums, along with records by
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Leonard Cohen, Ringo Starr and others, and even produced albums by artists including the Youngbloods. He had a song recorded by Elvis Presley (in itself enough to base a legacy on). Daniels covers his Southern rock years and pays tribute to friends no longer with us such as Ron- nie Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Toy and Tommy Caldwell (Mashall Tucker). He dedicates a nice size chunk of the book to long-time friends and band mates who have passed in recent years, the great guitarist Tommy Crain and keyboardist Taz DiGregorio. (I myself feel blessed to have been true friends later in life with both Tommy and Taz. Same with Toy and Tommy.) The sto- ries about how the Volunteer Jam came to be are priceless as well. Charlie tells great stories, just like he does
with his songs, so taking a break from reading Never Look at the Empty Seats was not easy to do. He is a man who truly lives life the way God intended. He loves God, his country, his family and friends with all his heart. He is always will- ing to help those in need, and does so continu- ally. In the book, he holds nothing back in regard to his Christianity, nor does he back away from expressing his love of his country, there is a great deal of writing about his loving wife Hazel, all the way back to when she first entered his life and they married in 1964, and along with son Charlie, Jr., became his foundation. His family. I really enjoyed reading about how he
found out he had been invited to become a mem- ber of the Grand Ole Opry, and also his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. I can honestly say, as I look to my right at
a six-foot book shelf filled with music biogra- phies, this one is one of my all-time favorites. I already know that I will read it again, and proba- bly sooner rather than later. Maybe even around Christmas. Something about Charlie reminds me of Santa Claus anyway. Maybe I’ll build a fire, get a big ol’ cup of hot chocolate, put on Fire On the Mountain, Saddle Tramp and The Door, and dive back into the book. After all, there’s always something I may have missed the first time through, and when it comes to the former “Un- easy Rider,” I don’t want to miss a thing. •
- Michael Buffalo Smith
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