“Charlie Daniels accomplished something few other musicians did: he made the leap from session musician to superstar,” AllMusic notes. “The song that made him famous was ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia,’ a roaring country-disco fusion that became an international smash in 1979.” The tune “(introduced) him to millions of listeners and giving him a career that spanned decades. In its wake, Daniels quietly shifted his emphasis from Southern rock to country.” Earlier in his career, “his big breakthrough came when he played on Bob Dylan’s 1969 LP Nashville Skyline, a credit that opened the doors for the multi-instrumentalist to play with Leonard Cohen and Ringo Starr. Daniels parlayed this behind-the-scenes success into fronting his own band … Daniels weathered fashions, trends, and politics to become a beloved American music institution.” Daniels passed away in July 2020 in his mid-80s.
Rolling Stone Australia reviews “Drinking My Baby Goodbye,” Daniels’ 1985 release: “An outlier in a catalog more often associated with good-ole-white-boy anthems and Southern gothic story-songs, this 1985 Top 10 country hit is a dancing-all-over-your-troubles rave-up. It launches with an electric guitar part that, uh, tinkers with the one in Kenny Loggins’ ‘Footloose,’ but Daniels quickly commandeers the lick for himself … Daniels charges at his lines like he’s channeling Jerry Lee Lewis: ‘Pour me another one/I’m finished with the other one!’ But it’s Daniels’ delirious fiddle that moves the crowd and tips you off that this drinking cure might just work.”
This rollicking uptempo country/rockabilly dance hall track is fueled by Daniels’ vocal, which focuses on sung melody but adds a dash of the flow-state rap he made famous with “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Daniels’ muscular yet agile double-stop fiddle technique is another central ingredient. A whole-step modulation cuts in at 2:56. Many thanks to Alex G. for yet another great tune!
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