Country music legend Charlie Daniels‘ gravesite was vandalized, his friends and family said late last month. A tree planted near the grave marker was also stolen, the Charlie Daniels Band said. The Country Music Hall of Famer died on July 6, 2020, and is buried in Mount Juliet, Tennesee. Daniels was 83.
Back on June 27, the Charlie Daniels Band team posted a photo of Daniels’ gravesite on Instagram. “Thanks to someone stealing a dogwood sapling & watering bag this weekend (seriously!) & someone gluing a spouse’s military ID on the marble of Charlie’s marker a few months ago, MJPD will be increasing patrols near his grave & video surveillance will soon be installed,” the message reads.
Videos by PopCulture.com
In a follow-up message to Taste of Country, CDB representatives said the military ID was superglued to the marble marker. “What the article doesn’t make clear is that several months ago, an expired military dependent (spouse’s) ID of a woman who has since been divorced from her military spouse was superglued to the marble on the marker,” the reps explained. Although Daniels’ family welcomes fans to leave items, they asked that nothing be glued to the markers. They also hope fans will not remove trees the family planted near the gravesite.
The grave marker was put in place on Oct. 28, 2020, which would have been Daniels’ 84th birthday, reports WKRN. Daniels’ widow Hazel and son Charlie Daniels Jr. were at the cemetery to see the marker installed. The marker includes Psalm 91 1:8, which was one of Daniels’ favorite Bible passages, and Daniels’ signature.
Daniels was best known for his hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016. Daniels began his career in the 1960s as a Nashville session musician before he began recording his own songs in the early 1970s. His other hit songs include “Uneasy Rider,” “Long Haired Country Boy,” “In America,” “Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues,” and “Simple Man.” Daniels died after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke.
Daniels fans also have the opportunity to own his lavish tour bus, if they have an extra $200,000. Hemphill Bus Sales put the 1994 Prevost Liberty bus up for sale last month. It includes a full bedroom suite, an office area, a kitchenette, a dining area, a lounge, and a full-size bathroom.
