HAPPY TRAILS
excelled in several musical genres as singer, songwriter, instrumentalist — on fiddle, guitar, banjo, and mandolin — and influential mentor during a performing and recording career that spanned six decades. A native of Wilmington, North Carolina, he began his career playing bluegrass music with a group called the Misty Mountain Boys. He moved to Nashville in the 1960s and quickly established himself as a session musician — he provided backup for no fewer than three albums by Bob Dylan — and songwriter. (Elvis Presley recorded a tune Daniels co-wrote, “It Hurts Me,”. “People who came and saw us during their younger years are now bringing their grandchildren. … [T]o have people come with you and stay that long — that’s the great thing about it. I just thank God I make a living doing something I love so very much.” Daniels passed away July 6 in Nashville. He was 83.
