NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) – In 2018, Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Daniels took a big risk by forming a new band at 81 years old. The project grew out of the desire for Daniels and producer James Stroud to work together again – Stroud produced the Charlie Daniels Band (CDB) from 1988 to 1991. The two had remained good friends and Daniels had an idea for something that wasn’t a solo record but wasn’t the CDB either. He wanted stripped down, raw gritty and swampy. CDB bass player Charlie Hayward was recruited as was Billy Crain, brother of CDB’s outstanding guitar player from 1975-1988, Tommy Crain.
Wanting to distance this side-project from the CDB, Daniels eventually settled on calling the band Beau Weevils. The late country legend said they all had a blast recording the new music, titled Beau Weevils — Songs in the Key of E.
The band debuted with a live performance at the album release party, and one of the songs, “That’s How We Roll” even made it into the CDB’s setlist, but fans appeared to be a bit confused about what the album actually was, and not having Daniels’ name in the group’s name made the music hard to discover on streaming platforms.
Now five years after the loss of Daniels and almost seven years after the launch of Songs in the Key of E, Blue Hat Records and the Daniels family are breathing new life into the collection by rebranding the project as Charlie Daniels & the Beau Weevils, a name that should allow fans to more easily find and have suggested on streaming platforms.
New pressings of the rebranded CD have been available since April, but the new digital and streaming packages dropped on June 27, and contain a short but fun exclusive recording of Daniels’ a cappella arrangement of “The Boll Weevil Song,” a very old blues number which now serves as a brief intro to this new/old sound.
This release also marks the first since Blue Hat President and co-founder David Corlew exited the label earlier this year.
“Mom and I want to thank David for all he has done since being at the helm of Blue Hat Records since its inception,” says Charlie Daniels Jr. “When Dad wanted to step away from the Music Row establishment and do the projects he was passionate about, David was there to help pave the way for some outstanding and diverse music from cover songs from some of the best southern bands of all times to a bluegrass gospel album featuring some of the best who ever played in either genre to Dad’s tribute to Bob Dylan, the acoustic Off the Grid-Doin’ it Dylan. David enabled Dad to outstretch his creative wings, and we will always be grateful to David and Carolyn Corlew for helping him do that.”
“Blue Hat was one of the earliest independent labels in the beginning, following the lead of industry forward thinkers like Al Bunetta,” explains Corlew. “I believe we accomplished everything we wanted to do in our 30-plus years as partners. I wish the Daniels family much success as they move forward with a strong catalog of the past works of Charlie Daniels and the CDB.”
For the time being, Hazel Daniels is overseeing operations which will be handled day to day by Daniels Jr. and Randy Owen. The label continues their relationship with Bob Frank Distribution, and Bob Frank remains a partner in Blue Hat.
When asked what we can expect in the next few years, Daniels Jr. teases some tantalizing possibilities. “We’ve got a whole vault to choose from,” he says. “Dad has a substantial unreleased catalog to work with, including multiple alternative takes, some outstanding demo recordings and much more. We have a handful of songs that Dad wrote and laid down tracks for, but sadly never recorded the vocals. In cases like that, we’d consider AI to help us realize the incomplete vision, but it has to feel right, it has to feel organic and it has to feel real. What we’re not going to do is start churning out projects that feel uncomfortable or unnatural, don’t expect Dad to sing the best of Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin, but completing his own unfinished songs, I think that’s a positive use of AI.”
