1936: Charles E. Daniels born October 28th in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Early 40's: Charlie bounces between North Carolina and Georgia, goes coon and deer-hunting with his father, and writes his first story: a ghost story about a wooley swamp.

Circa 1953: Charlie has a bluegrass band and writes his first song. "The first thing I wrote that was recorded was in the late 50's but it was nothing really big."

1959: Charlie has by now been in several rock and roll and R&B groups. The longest stretch is with the Jaguars (1959-1967). They record an instrumental single in Ft. Worth, Texas. It's called "Jaguar."

Early 60's: Charlie, raised on country, a fan of bluegrass, and an adept rock and roll singer and guitarist, discovers jazz on a visit to Washington, D.C. The Jaguars begin to play Louis Prima shuffles, "Mack the Knife," and "some really jazzy stuff."

1964: Back to country and rock. Daniels co-writes "It Hurts Me," and it's recorded by Elvis Presley and put on the flip side of "Kissin' Cousins."

1967: Daniels is invited by producer Bob Johnston, who's joined CBS Records in Nashville, to try Music City. He agrees. "I was playing a lot of clubs, and I wanted to get off the road."

He begins work as a session player. After being told by producers that he plays too loud, he joins Johnston on Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline. "It was the first time I felt at home in Nashville. You experienced a lot of freedom from Dylan. He liked what I did, and I was very much into what he was doing."

Charlie and his fiddle go on to other sessions and other stars, among them Ringo Starr and Marty Robbins.

1969: Charlie tries his hand as a producer, and when Johnston gets overloaded with work, he suggests Daniels to the Youngbloods. He produces Elephant Mountain and Ride the Wind, the latter recorded live at a rock festival in Louisiana and at the Fillmores East and West.

1970: Daniels cuts his first solo album, Charlie Daniels (Capitol Records). He forms the Charlie Daniels Band and joins the first wave of Southern rock bands.

The CDB joins Kama Sutra Records and records The John, Grease and Wolfman, named after the band members' nick names. "Grease" was keyboard player Joel DiGregorio, still with the CBD. Daniels was just "Charlie" on occassion, "the Fat Boy."

1972: Their next album, Honey in the Rock, includes "Uneasy Rider," a talking bluegrass number which becomes a hit the following year, reaching #9 in Billboard in August 1973.