A sell-out event, the Charlie Daniels 80th Birthday Volunteer Jam hit a capacity of 15,784 patrons in the building and was a star-studded show with a portion of the proceeds benefitting The Journey Home Project. The event featured guests 3 Doors Down, Luke Bryan, Kid Rock, Larry The Cable Guy, Chris Stapleton and Travis Tritt with the Charlie Daniels Band for another historic jam. The jam featured a variety of the artists singing standards like “Can’t You See” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”
A sell-out event, the Charlie Daniels 80th Birthday Volunteer Jam hit a capacity of 15,784 patrons in the building and was a star-studded show with a portion of the proceeds benefitting The Journey Home Project. The event featured guests 3 Doors Down, Luke Bryan, Kid Rock, Larry The Cable Guy, Chris Stapleton and Travis Tritt with the Charlie Daniels Band for another historic jam. The jam featured a variety of the artists singing standards like “Can’t You See” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”
Charlie Daniels was surprised with the Rare Country Humanitarian of the Year Award by Randy Travis and Lt. General Keith Huber before playing his mega-hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” to a sold out crowd at his 80th Birthday Volunteer Jam at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday evening.
“Looking back over my 50 plus year career, this is among the top five shows I have ever done in my entire life, Volunteer Jam 2016,” said Charlie Daniels of the momentous occasion.
Since 1974, Daniels has commissioned his musical friends and peers to come together on a “volunteer” basis to hang out, “jam” together, and entertain crowds in an unconventional, laid-back fashion unknown to any other concert event — all while dedicating concert proceeds to worthy causes. This year’s event featured extra special “jam” sessions with some of Charlie’s most prolific friends who celebrated the Country Music Hall of Famer, his birthday, and his many accomplishments.
A portion of the proceeds from the night went to the The Journey Home Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit co-founded by Daniels and manager, David Corlew, to help Veterans of the United States Armed Forces. For more info on The Journey Home Project, please visit: thejourneyhomeproject.org.
Charlie Daniels’ 80th Birthday Volunteer Jam was produced by Mike Smardak of Outback Concerts in association with David Corlew & Associates and Webster & Associates.
About Charlie Daniels
With a career spanning over 50 years and exceeding 20 million in sales worldwide Charlie Daniels is the quintessential Southerner with a healthy dose of Wild West Cowboy. For decades, he has connected with his millions of fans in the varying genres of music that reflect his steadfast refusal to label his music as anything other than the “Charlie Daniels Band” sound — music that is now sung around the fire at 4-H Club and scout camps, helped elect an American President, and been popularized on a variety of radio formats. Having celebrated multiple GRAMMY® Awards, CMA Awards, ACM Awards, BMI Awards, GMA Dove Awards, CCMA Awards, his list of accolades is broad; the latest being the latest inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Six of his albums have been RIAA Certified Multi-Platinum® and he has achieved a platinum-selling single in his iconic fiddle-ridden hit, “Devil Went Down To Georgia.” An outspoken American Patriot and strong supporter of the U.S. Military, Daniels’ talked-about Volunteer Jam concerts are world-famous musical extravaganzas featuring artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ted Nugent, Trace Adkins, Alabama and others, all on one stage for one purpose – to raise funds for our U.S. Military. His 40th Anniversary Volunteer Jam held in 2015 raised over $300,000 for The Journey Home Project, a non-profit veterans assistance organization which he co-founded. For more information on Charlie Daniels, please visit www.charliedaniels.com.
About 3 Doors Down
Formed in 1995, Grammy Award®-nominated multiplatinum Mississippi rock band 3 Doors Down consistently captivates audiences worldwide. The quintet’s many accolades include selling 16 million albums globally, receiving three Grammy nominations, and winning two American Music Awards, and five BMI Pop Awards for songwriting including “Songwriter of the Year.” Their debut The Better Life, became certified six-times RIAA platinum in 2000 and was fueled by the success of juggernaut hit “ Kryptonite.” This was followed by 2002’s sophomore album, Away from the Sun which went triple-platinum and saw similar success with “When I’m Gone” and “Here Without You.” 2005’s platinum Seventeen Days and 2008’s 3 Doors Down each earned #1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200, while Time of My Life landed at #3 in 2011. Ignited by the single “In The Dark,” 3 Doors Down unleashed their sixth full-length album, Us and the Night, which debuted top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 in 2016.
About Chris Stapleton
Chris Stapleton boldly introduced himself to the public at-large in 2015 with the release of his breakthrough debut album, Traveller. Released in May on Mercury Records Nashville, Traveller initially debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart with more than 27,000 albums sold, making it one of the best-selling first weeks by a debut country artist in 2015. Following a historic turn on the CMA Awards—where Stapleton became the first artist to win Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and New Artist of the Year at the same awards—Traveller became the first album to re-enter the Billboard 200 all-genre album chart at No. 1, where it stayed for two straight weeks. The breakthrough success continued earlier this year at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, where Stapleton took home two awards for Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance (“Traveller”). Most recently, Stapleton won six awards at the 51st Annual ACM Awards—Album of the Year (for Traveller as both artist and producer), Song of the Year (for “Nobody To Blame” as both artist and songwriter), Male Vocalist of the Year and New Male Vocalist of the Year. With the six wins, Stapleton ties the record for most ACM Awards won in a single year (only Garth Brooks and Faith Hill have previously won six in the same year).
About Kid Rock
Kid Rock, a native of Detroit, has sold a staggering twenty six million albums since breaking onto the scene in the 1990s. Other hit albums in the Kid Rock catalog include Cocky (2001), Rock and Roll Jesus (2007), and Born Free (2010). He has had success on the Pop, Country, and R&B charts with a variety of artists, ranging from Sheryl Crow to Martina McBride to R. Kelly. His most recent work is 2015’s “First Kiss.”
About Larry the Cable Guy
Larry the Cable Guy is a multiplatinum recording artist, Grammy nominee, Billboard award winner and one of the top comedians in the country. He has his own line of merchandise and continues to sell out theatres and arenas across the United States. He is the spokesman for Prilosec OTC and most recently launched his own comedy channel on SIRIUSXM with Jeff Foxworthy. He will also return as the voice of beloved Mater in Disney/Pixar’s Cars 3, which is currently in production. In addition to all of his professional accomplishments, Larry created the Git-R-Done Foundation, which was named after Larry’s signature catchphrase. With an emphasis on children’s and veterans’ causes, The Git-R-Done Foundation has donated more than 7 million dollars to great organizations such as The Arnold Palmer Hospital, Operation Homefront and Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital.
About Luke Bryan
Since the debut of his first album in 2007, Luke has placed 16 singles at No. 1 and sold nearly eight million albums with 30 million digital tracks from his five studio albums. He has twice been named Entertainer of the Year by both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. His fifth studio album, Kill The Lights, debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top 200 (his third to do so) and Top Country Albums charts and closed 2015 with the best-selling country album of the year and the 10th biggest selling album on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 Year-End list. In Luke’s stellar 2015 year, he performed for 1.5 million fans in concert, had three albums on the Top 15 Year-End Country Albums list- Kill the Lights (#1), Spring Break…Checkin’ Out (#10) and Crash My Party (#15), was the most streamed artist of 2015, placed six songs in the Year-End Top Country Streaming Tracks list, had his own exhibit at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (“Luke Bryan: Dirt Road Diary”), performed live during halftime at the Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving and wrapped up the year with a live Times Square performance on ABC’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” Luke recently co-hosted the ACM Awards for a fourth consecutive year and is performing in venues and stadiums across the U.S. on his “Kill The Lights Tour” through this fall.
About Travis Tritt
More than 25 years after Travis Tritt launched his music career, the Grammy award-winning artist continues to sell-out shows, top sales charts and stay true and relevant to Country music fans across the globe. A Marietta, Ga. native, Travis Tritt is dubbed one of “The Class of ‘89,” which included Country music superstars Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Alan Jackson; all of whom dominated the charts in the early ‘90s. Among his eleven studio albums and numerous charted singles are nineteen Top 10 hits, including “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde,” “Love Of A Woman” and “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.” His 25 year career has produced millions in album sales, two Grammy award wins and multiple No. 1 singles on the Country radio charts. Tritt formed Post Oak Recordings in 2012 and released his album The Calm After… through his own record label. In 2014-2015, the Southern-rock influenced Country artist topped the SoundScan Top 200 Catalog Country Albums chart for over 50 consecutive weeks for his album, The Very Best of Travis Tritt. For more information on Travis Tritt, visit his website TravisTritt.com and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
About The Volunteer Jam:
The Volunteer Jam, a multi genre musical extravaganza is one of Charlie Daniels’ best known accomplishments. The legendary event began in 1974 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, TN as a way of celebrating their first hometown sellout concert. The CDB invited numerous musical compadres to stop by “and do some jamming.” Among those who dropped in were members of the Marshall Tucker Band and The Allman Brothers Band. Recordings from this Jam are included on the CDB’s Fire On The Mountain LP, and 100 radio stations aired one-hour tapes of the event. CDB songs at Jam I included “Whiskey,” “Long Haired Country Boy,” “Trudy,” and “The South’s Gonna Do It, (Again).” This was the beginning of the Homecoming concert tradition.
Volunteer Jam II (1975) took place at Murphy Center on the Middle Tennessee State University campus in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The first year’s 2400 revelers and 10,600 of their friends returned for another advance sellout. The evening was documented in “Volunteer Jam,” the first Southern rock motion picture. The aristocracy of Southern rock – The Marshall Tucker Band, Dickey Betts and Chuck Leavell of The Allman Brothers Band, and Dru Lombar of Grinderswitch – “volunteered” with The CDB. Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, Hee Haw regular Roni Stoneman, top ranked session men Jamie Nichol and Karl Himmel, along with Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie and Billy Joe Shaver were also among the performing guests. Taped broadcasts were aired on 120 radio stations. At that time, “The South’s Gonna Do It (Again),” was a hit anthem on FM radio and the CDB was enjoying popularity that would keep on building.
Volunteer Jam III moved to Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium in 1976 where the CDB’s homecoming concert continued annually until 1985. Another advance sellout included mail orders from as far away as New York and California. The rowdy bash attained the stature of a civic event inspiring mayoral and gubernatorial proclamations. Radio coverage doubled the first year’s programmers. More than 250 stations aired two-hour tapes of Volunteer Jam III via King Biscuit Radio Network.
In 1979 at Volunteer Jam V, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited for the first time since the 1977 plane crash for a tribute to the legendary Skynyrd band.
Volunteer Jam X (1984) marked the Jam debut as an international media event. The CDB and more than 30 guest artists entertained millions around the world via an unprecedented live Voice of America broadcast . The SRO event was later aired as a two-hour TV special, produced by Dick Clark Productions, and syndicated by Multimedia Entertainment. Television personalities Dick Clark, Byron Allen of NBC’s “Real People,” and MTV’s deejay Alan Hunter were on hand.
Daniels, had no limit to the genre of music that was invited to perform at Volunteer Jams and the lineups included rock, country bluegrass, gospel, soul, classical, comedy, and southern rock.
Other memorable moments at Volunteer Jam Municipal Auditorium concerts include performances by Billy Joel, Ted Nugent and Molly Hatchet performing “Mississippi Queen.” Leon Russell, Mickey Gilley, Duane Eddy, Woody Herman, and the Jordanaires made appearances as well as, Vince Gill, the late Nicolette Larson, Dwight Yoakam, the late Papa John Creach, and Willie Nelson singing his classic “Crazy.”
The list goes on. Other historic performances included Soloman Burke, Sea Level, Eddie Rabbit, Poco, the Oak Ridge Boys, B. B. King, Delbert McClinton, Ray Price, ( “For the Good Times,”) Roy Acuff, Amy Grant, John Prine, Bonnie Bramlett, Emmylou Harris, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Carl Perkins. When Little Richard removed his shirt and shoes while performing, the crowd went wild. James Brown brought the house down when he performed “I Feel Good,” along with a medley of his hits. The crowd never knew who would appear next.
Volunteer Jams took place at Starwood Amphitheater in Nashville, TN from 1986 to 1992 and were the subject of documentary TV productions as well as a live appearance on the national broadcast of the Jerry Lewis Telethon. Guest at Starwood Jams included Don Henley and J.D. Souther performing “Desperado and “You’re Only Lonely.”
Volunteer Jam XIII brought back Lynyrd Skynyrd for a 2nd reunion with a paralyzed Allen Collins speaking to the crowd, not long before his passing. Pat Boone performed, and Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander played piano, while Travis Tritt, and Garth Brooks joined CDB on “Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye.”
Volunteer Jam XVI was the last of the official Vol Jam concerts held on Oct. 28, 1996 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville. The first ever acoustic Volunteer Jam, commemorated Charlie Daniels’ 60th birthday. Joining Charlie for a very special birthday party included David Ball, John Berry, Tracy Byrd, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tracy Lawrence, David Lee Murphy, Victoria Shaw, Jimmy Hall & Lorrie Morgan.
Charlie Daniels’ 40th Anniversary Volunteer Jam brought the historic event to its largest stage yet, Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. A sold out crowd raised over $300,000 for Charlie’s 501(c)(3) non-profit The Journey Home Project benefitting American Veterans, military members, and their families. The memorable anniversary event featured The Charlie Daniels Band, Ted Nugent, Trace Adkins, Alabama, Blackberry, Bonnie Bramlett, Eric Church, Terri Clark, Billy Crain, Billy Ray Cyrus, Billy Dean, Colt Ford, The Grascals, Lee Greenwood, Jimmy Hall, The Kentucky Headhunters, Jamey Johnson, Tracy Lawrence, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Montgomery Gentry, , Craig Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Lee Roy Parnell, Jeannie Seely, Michael W. Smith, Natalie Stovall, Travis Tritt, Phil Vassar, Ryan Weaver, Wynonna, and Tucker Yochim among others.
Charlie Daniels was surprised with the Rare Country Humanitarian of the Year Award by Randy Travis and Lt. General Keith Huber before playing his mega-hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” to a sold out crowd at his 80th Birthday Volunteer Jam at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday evening.
“Looking back over my 50 plus year career, this is among the top five shows I have ever done in my entire life, Volunteer Jam 2016,” said Charlie Daniels of the momentous occasion.
Since 1974, Daniels has commissioned his musical friends and peers to come together on a “volunteer” basis to hang out, “jam” together, and entertain crowds in an unconventional, laid-back fashion unknown to any other concert event — all while dedicating concert proceeds to worthy causes. This year’s event featured extra special “jam” sessions with some of Charlie’s most prolific friends who celebrated the Country Music Hall of Famer, his birthday, and his many accomplishments.
A portion of the proceeds from the night went to the The Journey Home Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit co-founded by Daniels and manager, David Corlew, to help Veterans of the United States Armed Forces. For more info on The Journey Home Project, please visit: thejourneyhomeproject.org.
Charlie Daniels’ 80th Birthday Volunteer Jam was produced by Mike Smardak of Outback Concerts in association with David Corlew & Associates and Webster & Associates.
About Charlie Daniels
With a career spanning over 50 years and exceeding 20 million in sales worldwide Charlie Daniels is the quintessential Southerner with a healthy dose of Wild West Cowboy. For decades, he has connected with his millions of fans in the varying genres of music that reflect his steadfast refusal to label his music as anything other than the “Charlie Daniels Band” sound — music that is now sung around the fire at 4-H Club and scout camps, helped elect an American President, and been popularized on a variety of radio formats. Having celebrated multiple GRAMMY® Awards, CMA Awards, ACM Awards, BMI Awards, GMA Dove Awards, CCMA Awards, his list of accolades is broad; the latest being the latest inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Six of his albums have been RIAA Certified Multi-Platinum® and he has achieved a platinum-selling single in his iconic fiddle-ridden hit, “Devil Went Down To Georgia.” An outspoken American Patriot and strong supporter of the U.S. Military, Daniels’ talked-about Volunteer Jam concerts are world-famous musical extravaganzas featuring artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ted Nugent, Trace Adkins, Alabama and others, all on one stage for one purpose – to raise funds for our U.S. Military. His 40th Anniversary Volunteer Jam held in 2015 raised over $300,000 for The Journey Home Project, a non-profit veterans assistance organization which he co-founded. For more information on Charlie Daniels, please visit www.charliedaniels.com.
About 3 Doors Down
Formed in 1995, Grammy Award®-nominated multiplatinum Mississippi rock band 3 Doors Down consistently captivates audiences worldwide. The quintet’s many accolades include selling 16 million albums globally, receiving three Grammy nominations, and winning two American Music Awards, and five BMI Pop Awards for songwriting including “Songwriter of the Year.” Their debut The Better Life, became certified six-times RIAA platinum in 2000 and was fueled by the success of juggernaut hit “ Kryptonite.” This was followed by 2002’s sophomore album, Away from the Sun which went triple-platinum and saw similar success with “When I’m Gone” and “Here Without You.” 2005’s platinum Seventeen Days and 2008’s 3 Doors Down each earned #1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200, while Time of My Life landed at #3 in 2011. Ignited by the single “In The Dark,” 3 Doors Down unleashed their sixth full-length album, Us and the Night, which debuted top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 in 2016.
About Chris Stapleton
Chris Stapleton boldly introduced himself to the public at-large in 2015 with the release of his breakthrough debut album, Traveller. Released in May on Mercury Records Nashville, Traveller initially debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart with more than 27,000 albums sold, making it one of the best-selling first weeks by a debut country artist in 2015. Following a historic turn on the CMA Awards—where Stapleton became the first artist to win Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and New Artist of the Year at the same awards—Traveller became the first album to re-enter the Billboard 200 all-genre album chart at No. 1, where it stayed for two straight weeks. The breakthrough success continued earlier this year at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, where Stapleton took home two awards for Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance (“Traveller”). Most recently, Stapleton won six awards at the 51st Annual ACM Awards—Album of the Year (for Traveller as both artist and producer), Song of the Year (for “Nobody To Blame” as both artist and songwriter), Male Vocalist of the Year and New Male Vocalist of the Year. With the six wins, Stapleton ties the record for most ACM Awards won in a single year (only Garth Brooks and Faith Hill have previously won six in the same year).
About Kid Rock
Kid Rock, a native of Detroit, has sold a staggering twenty six million albums since breaking onto the scene in the 1990s. Other hit albums in the Kid Rock catalog include Cocky (2001), Rock and Roll Jesus (2007), and Born Free (2010). He has had success on the Pop, Country, and R&B charts with a variety of artists, ranging from Sheryl Crow to Martina McBride to R. Kelly. His most recent work is 2015’s “First Kiss.”
About Larry the Cable Guy
Larry the Cable Guy is a multiplatinum recording artist, Grammy nominee, Billboard award winner and one of the top comedians in the country. He has his own line of merchandise and continues to sell out theatres and arenas across the United States. He is the spokesman for Prilosec OTC and most recently launched his own comedy channel on SIRIUSXM with Jeff Foxworthy. He will also return as the voice of beloved Mater in Disney/Pixar’s Cars 3, which is currently in production. In addition to all of his professional accomplishments, Larry created the Git-R-Done Foundation, which was named after Larry’s signature catchphrase. With an emphasis on children’s and veterans’ causes, The Git-R-Done Foundation has donated more than 7 million dollars to great organizations such as The Arnold Palmer Hospital, Operation Homefront and Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital.
About Luke Bryan
Since the debut of his first album in 2007, Luke has placed 16 singles at No. 1 and sold nearly eight million albums with 30 million digital tracks from his five studio albums. He has twice been named Entertainer of the Year by both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. His fifth studio album, Kill The Lights, debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top 200 (his third to do so) and Top Country Albums charts and closed 2015 with the best-selling country album of the year and the 10th biggest selling album on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 Year-End list. In Luke’s stellar 2015 year, he performed for 1.5 million fans in concert, had three albums on the Top 15 Year-End Country Albums list- Kill the Lights (#1), Spring Break…Checkin’ Out (#10) and Crash My Party (#15), was the most streamed artist of 2015, placed six songs in the Year-End Top Country Streaming Tracks list, had his own exhibit at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (“Luke Bryan: Dirt Road Diary”), performed live during halftime at the Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving and wrapped up the year with a live Times Square performance on ABC’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” Luke recently co-hosted the ACM Awards for a fourth consecutive year and is performing in venues and stadiums across the U.S. on his “Kill The Lights Tour” through this fall.
About Travis Tritt
More than 25 years after Travis Tritt launched his music career, the Grammy award-winning artist continues to sell-out shows, top sales charts and stay true and relevant to Country music fans across the globe. A Marietta, Ga. native, Travis Tritt is dubbed one of “The Class of ‘89,” which included Country music superstars Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Alan Jackson; all of whom dominated the charts in the early ‘90s. Among his eleven studio albums and numerous charted singles are nineteen Top 10 hits, including “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde,” “Love Of A Woman” and “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.” His 25 year career has produced millions in album sales, two Grammy award wins and multiple No. 1 singles on the Country radio charts. Tritt formed Post Oak Recordings in 2012 and released his album The Calm After… through his own record label. In 2014-2015, the Southern-rock influenced Country artist topped the SoundScan Top 200 Catalog Country Albums chart for over 50 consecutive weeks for his album, The Very Best of Travis Tritt. For more information on Travis Tritt, visit his website TravisTritt.com and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
About The Volunteer Jam:
The Volunteer Jam, a multi genre musical extravaganza is one of Charlie Daniels’ best known accomplishments. The legendary event began in 1974 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, TN as a way of celebrating their first hometown sellout concert. The CDB invited numerous musical compadres to stop by “and do some jamming.” Among those who dropped in were members of the Marshall Tucker Band and The Allman Brothers Band. Recordings from this Jam are included on the CDB’s Fire On The Mountain LP, and 100 radio stations aired one-hour tapes of the event. CDB songs at Jam I included “Whiskey,” “Long Haired Country Boy,” “Trudy,” and “The South’s Gonna Do It, (Again).” This was the beginning of the Homecoming concert tradition.
Volunteer Jam II (1975) took place at Murphy Center on the Middle Tennessee State University campus in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The first year’s 2400 revelers and 10,600 of their friends returned for another advance sellout. The evening was documented in “Volunteer Jam,” the first Southern rock motion picture. The aristocracy of Southern rock – The Marshall Tucker Band, Dickey Betts and Chuck Leavell of The Allman Brothers Band, and Dru Lombar of Grinderswitch – “volunteered” with The CDB. Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, Hee Haw regular Roni Stoneman, top ranked session men Jamie Nichol and Karl Himmel, along with Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie and Billy Joe Shaver were also among the performing guests. Taped broadcasts were aired on 120 radio stations. At that time, “The South’s Gonna Do It (Again),” was a hit anthem on FM radio and the CDB was enjoying popularity that would keep on building.
Volunteer Jam III moved to Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium in 1976 where the CDB’s homecoming concert continued annually until 1985. Another advance sellout included mail orders from as far away as New York and California. The rowdy bash attained the stature of a civic event inspiring mayoral and gubernatorial proclamations. Radio coverage doubled the first year’s programmers. More than 250 stations aired two-hour tapes of Volunteer Jam III via King Biscuit Radio Network.
In 1979 at Volunteer Jam V, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited for the first time since the 1977 plane crash for a tribute to the legendary Skynyrd band.
Volunteer Jam X (1984) marked the Jam debut as an international media event. The CDB and more than 30 guest artists entertained millions around the world via an unprecedented live Voice of America broadcast . The SRO event was later aired as a two-hour TV special, produced by Dick Clark Productions, and syndicated by Multimedia Entertainment. Television personalities Dick Clark, Byron Allen of NBC’s “Real People,” and MTV’s deejay Alan Hunter were on hand.
Daniels, had no limit to the genre of music that was invited to perform at Volunteer Jams and the lineups included rock, country bluegrass, gospel, soul, classical, comedy, and southern rock.
Other memorable moments at Volunteer Jam Municipal Auditorium concerts include performances by Billy Joel, Ted Nugent and Molly Hatchet performing “Mississippi Queen.” Leon Russell, Mickey Gilley, Duane Eddy, Woody Herman, and the Jordanaires made appearances as well as, Vince Gill, the late Nicolette Larson, Dwight Yoakam, the late Papa John Creach, and Willie Nelson singing his classic “Crazy.”
The list goes on. Other historic performances included Soloman Burke, Sea Level, Eddie Rabbit, Poco, the Oak Ridge Boys, B. B. King, Delbert McClinton, Ray Price, ( “For the Good Times,”) Roy Acuff, Amy Grant, John Prine, Bonnie Bramlett, Emmylou Harris, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Carl Perkins. When Little Richard removed his shirt and shoes while performing, the crowd went wild. James Brown brought the house down when he performed “I Feel Good,” along with a medley of his hits. The crowd never knew who would appear next.
Volunteer Jams took place at Starwood Amphitheater in Nashville, TN from 1986 to 1992 and were the subject of documentary TV productions as well as a live appearance on the national broadcast of the Jerry Lewis Telethon. Guest at Starwood Jams included Don Henley and J.D. Souther performing “Desperado and “You’re Only Lonely.”
Volunteer Jam XIII brought back Lynyrd Skynyrd for a 2nd reunion with a paralyzed Allen Collins speaking to the crowd, not long before his passing. Pat Boone performed, and Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander played piano, while Travis Tritt, and Garth Brooks joined CDB on “Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye.”
Volunteer Jam XVI was the last of the official Vol Jam concerts held on Oct. 28, 1996 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville. The first ever acoustic Volunteer Jam, commemorated Charlie Daniels’ 60th birthday. Joining Charlie for a very special birthday party included David Ball, John Berry, Tracy Byrd, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tracy Lawrence, David Lee Murphy, Victoria Shaw, Jimmy Hall & Lorrie Morgan.
Charlie Daniels’ 40th Anniversary Volunteer Jam brought the historic event to its largest stage yet, Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. A sold out crowd raised over $300,000 for Charlie’s 501(c)(3) non-profit The Journey Home Project benefitting American Veterans, military members, and their families. The memorable anniversary event featured The Charlie Daniels Band, Ted Nugent, Trace Adkins, Alabama, Blackberry, Bonnie Bramlett, Eric Church, Terri Clark, Billy Crain, Billy Ray Cyrus, Billy Dean, Colt Ford, The Grascals, Lee Greenwood, Jimmy Hall, The Kentucky Headhunters, Jamey Johnson, Tracy Lawrence, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Montgomery Gentry, , Craig Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Lee Roy Parnell, Jeannie Seely, Michael W. Smith, Natalie Stovall, Travis Tritt, Phil Vassar, Ryan Weaver, Wynonna, and Tucker Yochim among others.
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Source: Country Music News Blog