This week in 1979 the Charlie Daniels Band released The Devil Went Down to Georgia from the album Million Mile Reflections. The song tells the story of a young man named Johnny, who makes a deal with the devil. It was the band’s biggest hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and prevented from a higher peak by After the Love Has Gone by “Earth, Wind and Fire” and My Sharona by “The Knack.
The song begins as a disappointed Devil arrives in Georgia, apparently “way behind” on stealing souls, when he notices a young man named Johnny who is playing a fiddle, and quite well. Out of desperation, the Devil, who claims that he also is a fiddle player, bets a fiddle of gold against Johnny’s soul to see who is the better fiddler. Although Johnny believes taking the Devil’s bet might be a sin, he fearlessly accepts, confidently boasting that he’s “the best that’s ever been.”
Listen below to hear how the story ends.