Charlie Daniels Band Member Joel DiGregorio Killed In Car Crash

Longtime Charlie Daniels Band member and keyboardist Joel 'Taz' DiGregorio was killed in a one car accident near Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday, October 12th. DiGregorio had been with the band almost since its inception 40 years ago. He co-wrote many songs with Daniels including the signature tune 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia'. DiGregorio was on his way to meet the Charlie Daniels tour bus when he failed to negotiate a curve on Interstate 40 outside of Nashville. He later died of injuries sustained in the crash.

The band cancelled a Thursday night show and one scheduled for this Saturday (October 15th). Charlie Daniels responded yesterday to the news saying, "He was an intricate part of our sound for 40 years. If you listened to our records, you could hear Taz all over them. He had a riff in `The Devil Went Down to Georgia' which was his idea. He just fit in with our music for 40 years. It won't be easy without him." (story via huffingtonpost.com)