Country Singer Adam Warner Releases ‘Long Haired Country Boy’ To Honor The Late Charlie Daniels

He’s a singer/songwriter, and a U.S. Marine veteran, whose songs include “Four Square Miles,” “Semper Fi” featuring Trace Adkins,” and the Tennessee Titans anthem “Welcome to the South.”

This week, Adam Warner released a cover version of Charlie Daniels classic “Long Haired Country Boy” to coincide with the anniversary of Daniels passing two years ago. (Daniels died on July 6th, 2020 at the age of 82.)

“He’s always been a hero of mine,” Warner says.

Before recording the song, Warner reached out to the Daniels’ family through Charlie’s former manager and close friend, David Corlew.

“I’ve been playing that song on stage for years and it’s one of my favorites,” Warner explains. “And I know you’re never going to outdo what Charlie created or make it better than the original, but I have a younger audience. And people come up to me at shows and say, Dude, I love ‘Long Haired Country Boy, it’s such a badass song.’ And when I tell them it’s not mine, it’s a Charlie Daniels’ song, they look at me like, ‘who’s that?’ And that’s because they’re like, 19 years old.”

It’s been nearly 50 years since Daniels first released “Long Haired Country Boy.” It was one of a string of iconic songs from his 1974 album Fire on The Mountain. Warner traveled to Macon, Georgia to record the video for his cover at Capricorn Studios where Daniels recorded that album.

Warner says he hopes his version will help introduce Daniels’ music to a new wave of fans.

“It’s kind of my little way of being able to keep, not just his memory and legacy alive, but possibly introduce his music to a younger crowd who might not necessarily know who he was.”

To further honor Daniels, Warner is donating part of the proceeds from the song to the Journey Home Project.” Journey Home is a non-profit organization Daniels created along with David Corlew in 2014, to help veterans.

“That’s another thing very near and dear to me, obviously,” Warner says. “The military was a very special place for me and if I can help my brothers and sisters in any way, I’m always going to do that.”

Warner spent four years in the Marines before leaving the service in 2008. He’s an Illinois-native who grew up on a multi-generation family farm in the small town of Lawrenceville. As a kid, he listened to a wide range of music that included country, rock and roll, and a lot of southern rock.

“I loved the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Charlie Daniels,” he recalls.

Back then, he never thought much about pursuing a music career. He left home to join the Marines, then ended up in Nashville after leaving the military to attend school at Middle Tennessee State University. While there, he began writing songs with some fellow students who enjoyed music as much as he did.

“We didn’t really take ourselves too seriously,” he says. “We just wrote music that was fun. And then we started penning some songs that were actually pretty good. I ended up recording a few of them and then one thing led to another. And I was like, well shoot, I don’t want to end up sitting on my couch wondering ‘what if.’ So, I thought I might as well give it a shot.”

He gained traction in 2018 and 2019 with songs reflecting both his life and values like his “Four Square Miles” which touches on growing up on a farm in America’s heartland, and his “Semper Fi” duet with Trace Adkins.

When COVID came along, Warner – along with everyone else – saw his music career come to an abrupt halt. Throughout the pandemic, however, he continued working on songwriting.

He now has a new album set for release later this year. It’s called What We’re Known For. “Long Haired Country Boy” is one of 12 tracks, but it’s the only cover. The rest are all new songs with half of them written, or co-written, by Warner. Songs like “Split a Beer,” “Granny’s Lincoln,” and the previously released “Catchin’ Hell.”

“When it comes to songwriting, I try to write in a way where it doesn’t matter if you’re from a small town in Southeastern, Illinois,” he says, “or you were born and raised in New York and never even seen the country, I want you to be able to listen to it and see it, versus just hearing it. I try to write stories that you can see unfold in front of you. I’m a visual guy, I guess.”

What We’re Known For is scheduled for release in December. Look for other new singles like “Long Haired Country Boy” in the months ahead.

“I’m really excited about the new album and can’t wait for people to hear it,” Warner says.