I first met Charlie Daniels thirty years ago while working for a local record chain store. The representative from
Columbia Records brought Charlie into the store to promote his new album, “Fire on the Mountain”. Later that
night the Charlie Daniels Band were to perform at the Nassau Coliseum. I remember being very excited because
I was a huge Charlie Daniels fan. When we met, I told he how honored I was to meet him. He responded with
“the pleasures all mine, son and by the way can you get me a cup”. I said “Sure Charlie, you thirsty”? He said
“It ain’t for drinkin’, it’s for spittin’”. Charlie had a giant wad of chewing tobacco and needed the cup, badly.
When I returned he nodded his head at let loose into the cup. As he left, he gave me two tickets to the Nassau
Coliseum show and said “see ya later”.

Now, it’s thirty years later. The CDB performed at John Burns Park in Massapequa, on July 26th., sponsored
by North Fork Bank. Everything seemed the same. Charlie’s the same large, smiling, cowboy hat wearing, fiddle playing and guitar picking man I remembered from my youth. The only difference is that Charlie traded the
giant wad of Skoal for a mouthful of chewing gum.

The CDB hit the stage at exactly 9:00PM and opened with the explosive “Drinkin My Baby Goodbye” from
the 1985 album “Me and the Boys”. He then dove deeper into his catalog with 1980’s “El Toreador” and
“Legend of Wooley Swamp” both from Full Moon. After a few classic tracks Charlie opened the floor to
the members of band. Taz DiGregorio the keyboardist and longtime member of the band took the lead on
“T.B. Voodoo”. Then guitarist Bruce Brown takes over on “Opposites Attract” a Steely Dan flavored funk.
The band flows full throttle on the unreleased “Florida Road” this was a fiery instrumental with a jazz-rock
fusion twist.

Charlie slows things down with his redneck hillbilly anthem “Simple Man”. Here Mr. Daniels introduces his
politics, stating that the lowest form of animal is a child molester, and the only good terrorist is a dead
terrorist. The song talks about dirty politicians, hanging drug dealers. The Simple Man’s answer is to tie to
a stump in the swamp and let the gators and rattlers do their thing. The second half of the show The crowd
was on their feet while the band rolled through their greatest hits. The country classic “Long Haired Country
Boy”, to the Dixie anthem “The South’s Gonna Do It Again”, to the bluegrass staple “Orange Blossom Special”
to the gospel Preachin Prayin’ Singin’ and an encore of the classic “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”. Through
out the night the lyrics were changed so they would be a bit more politically correct. His lyrics no longer
talk about getting stoned or hell-rasing. Son of a bitch was changed to son of a gun. And not a single person
cared. According to the Town of Oyster Bay Commissioner Bruce Foley the Charlie Daniels concert was the most successful concert they have ever had.