Exclusive Premiere: Live Recording of Charlie Daniels’ “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” from First Volunteer Jam to be Released

On October 4, 1974, country icon Charlie Daniels held the first Volunteer Jam at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Now, nearly 50 years later, the complete performance from that evening will be released for the first time.

Charlie Daniels & Friends: Volunteer Jam 1 – 1974 – The Legend Begins will be shared on August 26 via Blue Hat Records and BFD / Audium Nashville. Alongside performances from The Charlie Daniels Band, the 12-track record will feature “volunteer” musicians Toy Caldwell and Paul Riddle of The Marshall Tucker Band, The Allman Brothers’ Dickey Betts, and Jamie Nichol.

The previously unreleased album includes “Tennesee Waltz,” “Whiskey,” “Long-Haired Country Boy,” Caballo Diablo,” “Jambalaya” and “The South’s Gonna Do It (Again)”—which is premiering on American Songwriter. The 1974 track was the lead single from Daniel’s fifth studio album, Fire on the Mountain. Check out the Volunteer Jam performance of the track below.

“The Volunteer Jam was a magical evening,” says Daniels’ longtime manager and Blue Hat Records president David Corlew. “There was no other event like it. There has never been and will never be. This is the first one. The beginning, where it all started. So let this first Jam be your melodic introduction to a musical legend like no other.”

Along with the digital release of the Volunteer Jam album, Blue Hat and BFD / Audium Nashville will release a special vinyl edition of Charlie Daniels & Friends—Duets, exclusive to Walmart stores on the same day. Originally released July 2021, the 19-track album features Daniels’ duetting with Dolly Parton, Brooks & Dunn, Darius Rucker, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Brenda Lee, Gretchen Wilson, and more. Pre-order the Volunteer Jam album, HERE, and the vinyl edition of duets, HERE.

Charlie Daniels & Friends: Volunteer Jam 1 – 1974 – The Legend Begins Track Listing:

1. Tennessee Waltz
2. Whiskey
3. Way Down Yonder
4. Long Haired Country Boy
5. New York City, King Size Rosewood Bed
6. Caballo Diablo
7. Jambalaya
8. Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer)
9. No Place To Go
10. The South’s Gonna Do It (Again)
11. Orange Blossom Special
12. Don’t You Lie to Me

Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images