Soap Box

*NOTE* I initially wrote this soapbox in June of last year in order to promote Volunteer Jam: A Musical Salute to Charlie Daniels, but with the release of the 'Volunteer Jam 1 1974: The Legend Begins' album - Now streaming EVERYWHERE and CDs available on Amazon or HERE - I decided to dust this one off and share it again. – CD, Jr.

In 1974 the CDB was working on an album which would be called ‘Fire on the Mountain,’ which would be the fourth album released on Kama Sutra Records, an imprint of Buddah Records.

The recording was done at the legendary Capricorn Studios in Macon, GA, where many southern rock bands recorded, including The Marshall Tucker Band, The Allman Brothers and many more.

Dad worked hard on the album and got together the songs he felt were top-notch, including a few he had previously recorded, but felt they needed another take.

According to dad, on previous albums, he had tried to sound like other people, most likely because he spent about 10 years playing cover tunes in clubs and was always trying to sound like the original artists, so that carried over into the studio. It took him a few albums to try something he hadn’t before, to open up his mouth in front of the microphone and whatever came out, it would be all him, and no affectation or imitation of someone else. 

100% authentic Charlie Daniels.

They recorded the studio portion of the album, but dad wanted to include two live recordings, a song from the ‘Honey in the Rock’ album – later re-released on Epic Records as ‘Uneasy Rider’ – called "No Place to Go," and a cover of the old Ervin T. Rouse/Chubby Wise fiddle standard, “Orange Blossom Special.”

They were looking for a place to record, and because the CDB’s success had been limited at that time – “Uneasy Rider” was a top ten hit on radio, but didn’t translate into record sales – finding a venue where they could draw a crowd was critical. A live recording with hardly any crowd might as be done in the studio.

So, they looked to their home base of Nashville, TN, figuring they could draw the most people there, and settled on War Memorial Auditorium. It’s not a big place.  It holds about 2,000, but it meant that most likely there would be a full house, and the show was, indeed, a sellout.

They decided to call this one-and-done live recording session the Volunteer Jam because it was taking place in the Volunteer State of Tennessee. Dad also invited a few friends to join in and “jam” which is basically unrehearsed music created on the spot. Usually, it’s a blues riff or sometimes it may be a song that everybody knows and just kind of “wings it” following the lead of someone who is loosely directing the musicians, and letting them know when it’s time to take their solos.

For the Derek and the Dominos album, ‘Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs,’ the jam sessions were legendary, with Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle recording hours and hours of jamming. Those were finally pared down into a full CD on the ‘Layla’ box set released in the early 90s.

So, Toy Caldwell, Jerry Eubanks and Paul Riddle from The Marshall Tucker Band and Dickey Betts – who also performed the dobro solo on the “Long Haired Country Boy” studio track – all came down for the festivities.

A hot band from Nashville called Buckeye opened the show, and would have an impact on the CDB for many years to come. Two very talented brothers led Buckeye. Tommy and Billy Crain, and they also had a guitar tech named Roger Campbell. 

In 1975, three of the band’s members left at once, and that’s when Don Murray, Charlie Hayward and Tommy Crain joined the band, and a couple of years after that, Roger Campbell became guitar tech for the CDB, a position he would hold until July 6, 2020.

The show was a success. Unfortunately, I can’t give you a first-person account because…

I wasn’t there.

I was 9 years old and had seen dad perform many times, and went on the road with him and I figured it would be a really late night, and to be honest, I didn’t know how historical the night would be. Whoops.

But, I never missed another one. And there would be more. The show was a success and they did many more, and they were always a blast.

When the original vinyl albums were finally pressed, the record label included a 45 RPM disc (but oddly had a LP size hole in the middle) of the instrumental jam highlights.

Sadly, when Epic Records purchased the CDB catalog from Kama Sutra, the VolJam disc wasn’t included in any of the pressings from Epic.

So, there you have the condensed story of the very first Volunteer Jam and the two songs which helped make ‘Fire on the Mountain, a landmark album for the CDB.

I wish I had known what the Jam would be for dad and the band over the years. It was their semi-annual homecoming concert from 1974-1996 with few breaks here and there. I wish I had gone to the show and gotten to see and hear the performances… But..

One day a couple of years ago I was looking through our tape vault and I came across something which made my eyes almost pop out of my head.

It was a DAT – digital audiotape – of the 1974 Volunteer Jam.

Mind… blown…

I got our engineer to transfer it, and for the first time in my life – aside from “Orange Blossom Special and “No Place to Go”- I heard the CDB’s set from the very first Volunteer Jam, and even the jamming that followed along with some interesting covers.

Maybe we can do something with it someday. We’d sure love to share it with you.

As dad proudly proclaimed at the first and (almost) every Jam, “Ain’t it good to be alive and be in Tennessee!”

Let’s all make the day count!

What do you think?

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

—  Charlie Daniels, Jr.

 

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