Jam in Charlie Daniels’ “The South’s Gonna Do it Again”

Times and things may have changed, but Charlie Daniels isn’t giving up on his Southern pride. Always the patriot at heart, our Urban Cowboy made music primarily to promote what he deemed as traditional American lifestyle instead of merely expressing sentiments about the good ole days.

On that note, here’s “The South’s Gonna Do It Again,” Daniels song about kinship.

Daniels’ Good Ole Bunch

The South’s indisputably regarded as the home of many talented musicians including Southern Rock bands. Daniels has worked and became friends with many of these stars including The Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dickey Betts, Elvin Bishop, ZZ Top, and Barefoot Jerry. Hence, in a witty play with words, Daniels made mention of them in the song and called them his “good ole bunch.”  Also, he did not neglect to mention the Georgia-based band, “Grinderswitch” in the opening line as they played and toured with Charlie Daniels’ band in the early 70s.

The track became part of his album, “Fire On the Mountain” and charted at #29 in 1975.

Lil Bit of Controversy

We’ve seen the 70’s as the decade of many firsts including the advent of Ku Klux Klan. The Klan interpreted “The South’s Gonna Do it Again” as their rally cry to advance their ideology. True to the proverb that music isn’t inherently evil, but depends on the users, Daniel’s track wasn’t given a slack. In 1975, they made Daniel’s song their background music in their radio ads. Charlie Daniels’ reaction? He was far from impressed.

Much as he was proud of his Southern Roots, he cringes at the thought of his song being associated with any group which he perceives as promoters of hate and racism. Furthermore, Daniels told Billboard Magazine that wrote “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” as a song of brotherhood and solidarity in the land.