By: Concert Vault
Playlist Description
Charlie Daniels' Volunteer Jams were a Nashville tradition and, despite keeping the list of guest performers a secret every year, one of the hottest concert tickets in America. The eighth Volunteer Jam, held on January 30, 1982, was no exception, featuring over eight hours of music from more than 25 genre-bending acts with an emphasis on Southern rock, country and blues. The show was broadcast on radio and recorded by the King Biscuit Flower Hour, which aired highlights from the evening a few weeks later. This playlist presents the entirety of that King Biscuit radio show, including the full Charlie Daniels Band set along with mini-sets from Leon Russell, Jimmy Hall, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Steve Walsh (of Kansas), China and Quarterflash.
The Volunteer Jam tradition began in 1974 when, to celebrate the Charlie Daniels Band's first homecoming sellout at Nashville's War Memorial Auditorium, Daniels invited some friends to drop by and jam. Much to the surprise and delight of all attendees, among those accepting his invitation were The Allman Brothers Band and the Marshall Tucker Band. The result was an incredible evening of rowdy Southern Rock not soon forgotten and the initial Volunteer Jam concept took hold.
The following year Daniels upped the ante by repeating the concept at Murfreesboro, Tennessee's Murphy Center, with even more friends turning up in addition to the first year performers. Another advance sellout, the event was a roaring success. Filmed and recorded, subsequent broadcasts spread the word throughout the United States and in 1977, the Volunteer Jam concert would find a permanent home. That January, the third Volunteer Jam took place at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium and featured a veritable who's who of southern rock, country and bluegrass musicians all on the same stage. The King Biscuit Flower Hour recording engineers were on hand to document the event and choice highlights were heard by millions of listeners across North America.
By then, what began as an annual homecoming
