Nickelback replaces fiddle with electric guitar in new 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia' cover
The devil went down to Georgia and found... Nickelback?
The rock band released a cover of Charlie Daniels' famous song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" on Friday – the first time the band has released new music since their 2017 album "Feed the Machine." Daniels died in July at 83 after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke.
The track features all four Nickelback members – Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger and Daniel Adair – along with Canadian guitarist Dave Martone.
The song originally appeared on Daniels' 1979 album "Million Mile Reflections" and tells the story of a fiddler named Johnny who is challenged by the devil to a fiddling contest. If Johnny wins, he gets the golden fiddle; if he loses, the devil gets his soul.
In Nickelback's version of the song, the iconic fiddle of the original is replaced with the electric guitar.
Nickelback front man Kroeger said in a statement that he and his bandmates hope to honor Daniels.
"Charlie Daniels seamlessly fused country, southern rock, Western swing, blues and bluegrass into a sound and style all his own," he said. "More importantly, his ability to tell compelling and relatable stories through his songwriting has stuck with me to this day. None more so than 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia.' "
Kroeger added that he and his bandmates recorded a "rough take" of the song a few years ago during a studio session with Martone.
"It was a fun song to tackle and brought back so many good memories for us all," he continued. "When Charlie passed last month, the world lost a music icon. I hope our version will bring half as much joy as his did for me and so many others.”
Nickelback caused a stir after teasing new music on Twitter Tuesday, with some making fun of the much-memed group.
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"Blockbuster and Nickelback trending on the same day," wrote user @thekevincochran, referencing the former movie rental giant's first new tweet since 2014. "Hot d--- it feels good to be back in 2002 again!"
"Not now, Nickelback; hasn't 2020 been awful enough?" complained @drreznicek.
Others expressed genuine excitement for more music.
"I'm definitely excited for Friday," wrote @stephjovi. "But thank you. All you haters all you bored idiots who don't know any Nickelback songs but hate them while Maroon 5 pretend to be a band, are giving them so much free publicity. So as a fan. Thank you for bothering to hate them"
"I'll never understand why it became pop culture to hate Nickelback! Call me what you want...I still like a lot of their music," wrote @CoachHelton09.
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Despite their detractors, Nickelback remains one of the most commercially successful bands of all time. Their 2005 album "All The Right Reasons" was Diamond Certified by the RIAA in 2017. Their hit 2001 song “How You Remind Me” was named Billboard’s "Top Rock Song of the Decade" and was No. 4 on the Top 10 songs of the 2000s list. They've also earned five Grammy Award nominations.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nickelback drops Charlie Daniels 'Devil Went Down to Georgia' cover
