TheVolunteer Jam is a sporadically held concert series headlined by theCharlie Daniels Band, featuring a multitude of musical acts that perform onstage with the band. It was first held on October 4, 1974, at theWar Memorial Auditorium inNashville, Tennessee.[1]
Over the years, guests have includedTed Nugent, TheAllman Brothers Band, TheMarshall Tucker Band,Billy Joel,Garth Brooks,Billy Ray Cyrus,Stevie Ray Vaughan,Tammy Wynette,Roy Acuff,Carl Perkins,Alabama,Don Henley,Barefoot Jerry and many more. Many of those concerts were broadcast live on the radio. The Volunteer Jam on nationwide television included a live broadcast on theJerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon and aDick Clark–produced network special. "Volunteer Jam" is also the name of a series of albums released byCharlie Daniels of performances from the late 1970s and early 1980s at the Volunteer Jam shows. Later Volunteer Jams became benefits for Daniels' charity, the Journey Home Project, for soldiers.
October 4, 1974
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The first Volunteer Jam concert was held at War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville. The show was scheduled as a live recording session for two songs for theFire on the Mountain album, "No Place to Go" and "Orange Blossom Special." The CDB invited some of their friends—Dickey Betts from the Allman Brothers Band andToy Caldwell,Jerry Eubanks andPaul Riddle from the Marshall Tucker Band—to get together and jam after their set. A tradition was born.[2]
September 12, 1975
Officially known as "Volunteer Jam '75," the second Jam was held at theMurphy Center inMurfreesboro, Tennessee. Special guests included The Marshall Tucker Band, Dickey Betts andChuck Leavell from the Allman Brothers Band,Jimmy Hall fromWet Willie and Dru Lombar fromGrinderswitch. The concert was filmed and released asVolunteer Jam - Starring The Charlie Daniels Band, the first full-length Southern rock motion picture.[3]
January 8, 1977
Volunteer Jam III was held atMunicipal Auditorium in Nashville. Special guests includedThe Winters Brothers Band, Grinderswitch, Wet Willie,Sea Level,The Sanford-Townsend Band and others. Performances from this Jam were combined with performances from VolJam IV to create a live album,Volunteer Jam III and IV. Attendance was estimated to be 12,000 concert-goers.[4]
January 14, 1978
Volunteer Jam IV was held again at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. Special guests included The Winters Brothers Band, Grinderswitch, Wet Willie, Sea Level, The Sanford-Townsend Band and others. Performances from this Jam were combined with performances from VolJam III to create a live album,Volunteer Jam III and IV. Attendance was estimated to be 10,000 plus people. Proceeds from the concert went to the surviving families of theLynyrd Skynyrd plane crash victims.[5][6]
January 13, 1979
Volunteer Jam V was held again at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. This Jam marked the return ofLynyrd Skynyrd to the stage for the first time since the 1977 plane crash that claimed several band members, and the CDB gave the first live performance of a song that would catapult the band to superstardom later that year, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Special guests also included Toy Caldwell andGeorge McCorkle from the Marshall Tucker Band,Dobie Gray, The Winters Brothers Band,The Henry Paul Band,Link Wray, andJohn Prine.[7]
January 12, 1980
Volunteer Jam VI was held again at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. Special guests included The Winters Brothers Band, Dobie Gray, Grinderswitch,Papa John Creach, The Henry Paul Band,Rufus Thomas,Crystal Gayle, Wet Willie,Bobby Jones & New Life,Louisiana's LeRoux, Ted Nugent and others. Tickets were by mail order only and cost $10 each.[8]
January 17, 1981
Volunteer Jam VII was held again at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. The CDB's special guests included Ted Nugent, Dobie Gray,Molly Hatchet,Delbert McClinton, Crystal Gayle,Bobby Bare, Jimmy Hall from Wet Willie and others.[6]
January 30, 1982
Volunteer Jam VIII was held again at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. Special guests includedJohnny Lee,George Thorogood, Crystal Gayle,Quarterflash,The Oak Ridge Boys, Dickey Betts,Jimmy C. Newman,Duane Eddy, Roy Acuff and others. Proceeds from the concert went to leukemia research and a Vietnam veterans group.[9]
January 22, 1983
Volunteer Jam IX was held again at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. The CDB's special guests includedJames Brown, Carl Perkins,Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks, Grinderswitch, Quarterflash, Johnny Lee, The Winters Brothers Band, Papa John Creach,Woody Herman, Streets, and others.[10]
February 4, 1984
Volunteer Jam X was held again at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. Special guests includedThe Nitty Gritty Dirt Band,Ronnie Milsap, Dobie Gray, Stevie Ray Vaughan,Vince Gill,Louise Mandrell,Amy Grant,The Bellamy Brothers,Emmylou Harris,Rodney Crowell, Crystal Gayle,Streets,Exile,B.J. Thomas, Tammy Wynette and others.[11]
February 2, 1985
Volunteer Jam XI was held again at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. Special guests includedKris Kristofferson,Tom Wopat,Little Richard,Nicolette Larson, Alabama,Ted Nugent,Bill Medley fromThe Righteous Brothers,Tommy Shaw fromStyx,Lacy J. Dalton,Gail Davies,Eddy Raven, Emmylou Harris, Amy Grant, and others. This year marked the first time the concert was broadcast live oncable television to 50 cities. In addition, it was broadcast live onVoice of America to 100 million listeners.[12]
July 12, 1986
Volunteer Jam XII was held at the then-newStarwood Amphitheatre in Nashville. Special guests includedJohn Conlee, Dobie Gray,The Judds,Restless Heart,Marty Stuart,The Outlaws,John Schneider, The Allman Brothers Band,Dwight Yoakum and others.[13]
September 6, 1987
Volunteer Jam XIII was held again at Starwood Amphitheatre in Nashville. Special guests includedWilliam Lee Golden, Stevie Ray Vaughan,Gary Chapman,Great White and others including Lynyrd Skynyrd. It wasJohnny Van Zant's first appearance as Skynyrd frontman, replacing his brother,Ronnie, who died in a 1977 plane crash. The Jam also coincided with theJerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, and some of the Jam performances were broadcast on the program.[14]
May 4, 1991
Volunteer Jam XIV was held again at Starwood Amphitheatre in Nashville. Special guests includedTanya Tucker, Bobby Jones & New Life,Travis Tritt,Joe Diffie, Ted Nugent,Jim "Dandy" Mangrum,B.B. King andJohn Kay &Steppenwolf. The concert, which was held outside, started out with a steady downpour of rain, but by the time Tanya Tucker took the stage in the afternoon, the sun had come out.[15]
September 20, 1992
Volunteer Jam XV was held again at Starwood Amphitheatre in Nashville. Special guests includedPoco,Eddie Rabbitt,Little Feat, The Oak Ridge Boys,Paulette Carlson,Suzy Bogguss,Jo-El Sonnier,Pirates Of The Mississippi,Confederate Railroad,Hal Ketchum,The Desert Rose Band, and others. This year marked when Daniels left Epic Records and moved to the Liberty label.[16]
October 29, 1996
The last of the original Jams, Volunteer Jam XVI, was held at theTennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville. The Jam was reimagined as an acoustic show and commemorated Daniels' 60th birthday. Special guests includedLorrie Morgan,David Ball, Billy Ray Cyrus,Tracy Byrd, Tracy Lawrence,John Berry,Randy Scruggs andBlackHawk.[17]
May 24, 2014
An unofficial Volunteer Jam concert was held atFiddler's Green Amphitheatre outsideDenver, honoring members of the military, theRed Cross and first responders. Also appearing with the CDB wereCraig Campbell, BlackHawk and The Outlaws. Daniels was interviewed byDan Rather prior to the show, which was then broadcast live onAXS TV after the interview.[18]
August 12, 2015
The CDB celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Volunteer Jam with an all-star lineup atBridgestone Arena in Nashville. Artists scheduled to perform included Travis Tritt,Montgomery Gentry, Billy Ray Cyrus,The Kentucky Headhunters, The Outlaws,Lee Roy Parnell,Trace Adkins,Colt Ford,Tracy Lawrence,Craig Morgan, Ted Nugent, The Oak Ridge Boys andMichael W. Smith.
November 30, 2016
Daniels celebrated his 80th birthday with a Volunteer Jam on November 30, 2016, with special guestsChris Stapleton, Travis Tritt,Kid Rock,Larry The Cable Guy,3 Doors Down andLuke Bryan.[19]
March 7, 2018
"Volunteer Jam XX: A Tribute to Charlie" included the CDB,Alison Krauss,Billy Gibbons ofZZ Top,Blackberry Smoke, Bobby Bare,Chris Janson, Chuck Leavell,Eddie Montgomery ofMontgomery Gentry,Jamey Johnson,Justin Moore, The Oak Ridge Boys,Ricky Skaggs, Alabama,Sara Evans,Lee Brice,Chris Young and Travis Tritt. It was recorded for broadcast on AXS TV, as well as DVD/CD releases.[20]
August 18, 2021
"Volunteer Jam XXI: A Musical Salute to Charlie Daniels." Organised by David Corlew (Daniels' business manager), the first event after his July 6, 2020 death is a benefit for Daniels' charity The Journey Home Project. The event featured the surviving members of the CDB in addition to Alabama, The Marshall Tucker Band, Ricky Skaggs, The Gatlin Brothers, Chris Young, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, Lorrie Morgan, Exile, Michael W. Smith, Big & Rich, Anthony Castagna, CeCe Winans, Gretchen Wilson, 38 Special, The Allman Betts Band, Cedric Burnside, Jenny Tolman, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Travis Denning, Johnny Lee, Rhett Akins, Scooter Brown Band, The SteelDrivers, Pure Prairie League and comedianDusty Slay.SiriusXM‘s Storme Warren hosted.[21]