On This Day in 2011, We Lost the Guitarist Who Personified the Villain in the Country Hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”

When one thinks of famous guitarists in Southern rock, they likely think of Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Toy Caldwell, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, and Tommy Crain of The Charlie Daniels Band. Formed in 1972, The Charlie Daniels Band went two years without their lead guitarist, Tommy Crain, as he joined the band in 1975. Subsequently, Crain went on to become an integral part of the band and remained with the group until he left in 1989. 22 years after he departed from the band, Tommy Crain passed away on this day, January 13, 2011, at the age of 59.

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Before Tommy Crain joined CDB in 1975, he grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and attended Parmer Elementary School. Fun fact, the Allman Brothers, as well as Amy Grant, graduated from the now closed-down Nashville elementary school. After his high school graduation, Crain went on to gig in Nashville and formed bands The Spartans and Buckeye. Finally, in 1975, Crain acquired his big break after Charlie Daniels saw him performing with his band, Buckeye, in 1974, and recruited him.

How Tommy Crain Helped CBD Make History

Tommy Crain and The Charlie Daniels Band achieved the impossible while together, and that impossible feat was becoming a crossover success as a Southern rock band. If you know anything about the genre, then you know that is not a common phenomenon. Regardless, in 1979, after the release of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”, the single went on to peak at No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts and at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

While “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” is without a doubt CDB’s most popular song, they have an expansive catalog that shows these guys were far more than just that hit. Other classics featuring both Crain and the band include “Long Haird Country Boy”, “The South’s Gonna Do It Again”, “The Legend Of Wooley Swamp”, and “Uneasy Rider”.

In 1989, Tommy Crain decided to leave The Charlie Daniels Band after 14 years in order to focus on his family. As stated previously, 22 years after that departure, Tommy Crain passed away at 59 years old. Four years later, Crain and the rest of the band received an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and to this day, they are certainly one of the most successful Southern rock/country rock bands in the history of the genre.

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