Pictured (L-R): Hazel Daniels, Doug Gray (The Marshall Tucker Band), Charlie Daniels Jr. Photo: Kayla Schoen
Charlie Daniels was posthumously awarded Pandora’s Billionaire Award last week at the 2021 Volunteer Jam: A Musical Salute to Charlie Daniels held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The honor commemorates one billion streams on the national music platform.
The Marshall Tucker Band, longtime friends of The Charlie Daniels Band, were on hand to make the presentation. During the group’s set, MTB lead singer Doug Gray called Daniels’ wife of nearly 56 years, Hazel Daniels, and his son, Charlie Daniels Jr., to the stage, surprising them with the special plaque from Pandora.
“This special award and the entire night brought tears to my eyes, to see how much his fans loved him, because he loved them, too,” said Daniels’ wife. “It was such an honor. I wish everyone had fans as loyal as Charlie’s.”
“In what was an exciting, uplifting and emotional night, one of the highlights of this year’s Volunteer Jam for me was the presentation of the Pandora Billionaire Award,” Daniels’ son shared. “For an artist whose main success was when record sales were measured by Gold and Platinum albums and decades before the advent of streaming to reach that milestone, this is a real testament to dad’s legacy and to his millions of fans who continue to listen to his music. He would be honored and humbled.”
Thousands of fans packed the arena to pay tribute to Daniels during the special evening, which included performances by Ricky Skaggs, Randy Travis (w/ James Dupré), Travis Tritt, Chris Young, Big & Rich, 38 Special, Michael W. Smith, CeCe Winans, The Allman Betts Band, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Travis Denning, Johnny Lee, Rhett Akins, The SteelDrivers, and many more.
To further honor the country music legend, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee also recently declared that Aug. 18 will now be the official “Charlie Daniels Day” across the state.
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