Charlie Daniels

Born 28 October 1936 in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.
Died 6 July 2020 in Hermitage, Tennessee, of a stroke.
Daniels, who wrote "Carolina (I Love You)" about his youth, was the son of a lumberjack and was raised with a love of bluegrass music. He borrowed a guitar when he was 15 years old and immediately learned to play basic tunes. He then acquired skills on mandolin and fiddle, but had to modify his playing when he lost the tip of his ring finger in an accident in 1955. He formed a bluegrass band, ''The Misty Mountain Boys'', but the group changed its name to ''The Jaguars'' following the single ''Jaguar'', which they recorded in 1959 (produced by Elvis Presley B-side "It Hurts Me", a tender ballad that remains one of his best compositions.

In 1967, Daniels followed Bob Johnston's suggestion to accept regular session work in Nashville. He played electric bass on Capitol Records.