Soap Box

“This is a day of new beginnings, new year, new hope, new resolve, a 365-day period of progress and accomplishment. Let’s all make the day count. “ – Charlie Daniels 2017

Happy New Year, everyone!

I pray that everyone’s New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day have been safe and that the upcoming year brings good health, much success and happiness to everyone reading this.

I wish I had more of Dad’s words to share, but there is only a limited supply these days, but this tweet from him on Jan. 1, 2017 was a good one, and very appropriate.

Allen Jackson – No relation - the pastor at our church, World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro said in one of his messages a few years ago that he loved the start of the school year when everything was new, he got a blank sheet of paper, a clean slate to be filled up over the course of the school year, and that also fits perfectly with the changing of old year to the brand new one which awaits us, a fresh start where anything is possible, you just have to work hard and focus your energy to your goals, and there’s no telling what you can accomplish.

Pastor Allen and Dad are better with words than I am, but both sets of words are solid advice on how to approach 2025 and each of its days as well as the following year, and the year after that.

Dad was a big proponent of bringing your “A” game every single day, and not just doing enough to get by, lest you drown in a sea of mediocrity.

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. He believed we should always strive for excellence in everything we do.

So, in that spirit, I’m re-dedicating myself to my mantra of “Keeping Charlie’s Legacy Alive” and to “Let’s all make the day count” which Dad tweeted virtually every day since 2011. I want to make sure that 2025 is a year that I can look back on and say, it all began here, five years after Dad’s passing.

Much of 2024 was focused on trying to sow the seeds of multiple projects in hopes of being able to harvest at least one or more of the crops produced.

Things don’t always move at the speed that you hope they will, and especially when dealing with partners and potential partners from other industries rather than the music business.

There are several projects that are being planted right now, and sadly – as always seems to be the case – nothing I can comment on just yet.

But I will talk about a few things in more detail and some of the grander plans in fairly vague terms.

But starting off is the obvious. Since I started working with the website and social media back in 2014, I’ve made song and album anniversaries a focal point of the merchandise and the website and social media platforms.

2024 was a big year with the 45th anniversary of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” the 35th Anniversary of the ‘Simple Man’ album and with the 50th anniversaries of both the ‘Fire on the Mountain’ album and the Volunteer Jam which most fans know were intertwined. Since FOTM was released in December of 2024, the 50th anniversary actually lasts most of 2025 as well.

But new for 2025 is the 45th Anniversary of the ‘Full Moon’ album including “The Legend of Wooley Swamp” and “In America.” We’ve already produced an “In America” tee and we’ll get started on a Wooley Swamp one soon. But we aim to please with our commemorative merchandise, and we will be sure they are of the best quality, and American-made if at all possible.

Next, it seems hard to believe but the MTSU Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center will celebrate ten years of helping student veterans, and last year, The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project also celebrated its tenth anniversary. Both are near and dear to our hearts here at the CDB.

I can tell you about something that will definitely be happening this year, and sooner than later. There will be a new CDB website in a few weeks.

While this is great news and will allow for a much better fan experience, this one is almost five years overdue. We started with BubbleUp, our current website design company back in 2016. They have always done a great job for us, but about four years into our deal, they mentioned that the platform that the site was built in was aging, and we needed to migrate it to a newer platform.

This came along in 2020, and the timing could not have been worse. The band wasn’t touring, the money was tight and the shellshock of when Dad went home made for a less-than-ideal time to try to migrate to the new platform.

So, we will be launching a work-in-progress update soon which will be worked on and finished periodically in 2025.

I still have aspirations of a Charlie Daniels Museum. I know we can create an experience that tells Dad’s story in an entertaining way and opens eyes and minds as to how much more there was to Dad than meets the eye.

We still haven’t given up on a documentary, we’ve got some good plans for a concept and interviews and our producer is still trying to shop it around. We’re really close to being able to start on this one.

These next few projects are still too sensitive to discuss in great detail, but I will try to do my best.

Dad was known for his story, and there is a potential for adapting at least one of his stories if the stars line up properly.

The next is an ambitious multi-part exhibition which would be unlike anything you have ever experienced before.

Then there is what I hope to dub a touring celebration of Dad’s life, and the ideas we have for this will knock your socks off.

So, I intend to make the days of 2025 count and give Dad’s legacy what it needs to continue to grow and build something for future generations to learn about the Long haired country boy who beat the devil and remained a simple man.

His music, his talent and who he was as a father, a friend a Christian and a patriot needs to be an example for us all, and we intend to do just that.

This is an exciting time to be a CDB fan.

Stay tuned, MUCH much more to come.

What do you think?

Let’s all make the day count!

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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