The Charlie Daniels Band – The Devil Went Down to Georgia

Charlie Daniels was inspired to write the song when he realized that the album he and his band was recording was lacking a song that featured fiddle. He wrote the song on the spot at the Woodland Sound Studios where the band was recording.

It was Daniels who played the fiddle for both the Devil and Johnny, and it was also Daniels who dreamed up what they both would sound like. He explains, “The Devil’s just blowing smoke. If you listen to that, there’s just a bunch of noise. There’s no melody to it, there’s no nothing, it’s just a bunch of noise. Just confusion and stuff. And of course Johnny’s saying something: You can’t beat the Devil without the Lord. I didn’t have that in the song, but I should have.”

Daniels has had people tell him they felt the Devil played a better piece, and to this he says, “If you dissect it and listen to it, that’s the smoke and mirrors thing about the Devil. There’s just nothing there. I mean, there’s nothing. There’s no music involved.”

The original version of the song spent fourteen weeks on the Hot Country Singles charts in 1979, peaking at number 1 and holding the position for one week. It spent two weeks at a peak of number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 20, 1989, for sales of over one million copies in the United States.

“The Devil Went Down to Georgia” – Single by Charlie Daniels Band from the album Million Mile Reflections
B-side “Rainbow Ride”
Released May 21, 1979
Studio Woodland (Nashville, Tennessee)
Songwriters: Charlie Daniels; Tom Crain”Taz” DiGregorio; Fred Edwards; Charles Hayward; James W. Marshall.
Producer: John Boylan
Charted No.1 US Hot Country Songs; No.3 US Billboard Hot 100; No.14 in UK; No.1 in Canada; No.14 in Ireland; No.14 in Australia.

Musicians:
Charlie Daniels – guitar, fiddle, vocals
Tom Crain – guitar, vocals
“Taz” DiGregorio – keyboards, vocals
Fred Edwards – drums, percussion
James W. Marshall – drums, percussion
Charles Hayward – bass