In a recent post on his personal blog, music legend Charlie Daniels bashes the way Guitar Hero III handled his blockbuster hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" mainly because of the game's "dark side".. Stating that the game "perverted" his song and that he wonders if he has any legal standing in the situation. He goes on to say that he "lost the rights" some years ago and that he is "disgusted" with the way the developers used his music and presented the song using "devils and monsters". Check out the link below for the full story.
Actually the game really has a dark side complete with grotesque monsters on stage with the band, strange, eerie lighting effects and all manner of weird things popping up on the stage. To tell you the truth the whole thing bothered me and struck me as something that is not the healthiest thing in the world for young, impressionable minds to be exposed to, but the thing that really got me was what they had done with my song. The song, "The Devil Went Down To Georgia," which I wrote, is supposed to be a lighthearted novelty about a fiddling contest between a country boy and the devil and the devil always loses. That is not the case with the Guitar Hero version which comes complete with a horned, guitar-playing devil who battles the player and very often wins. I want any of you parents out there whose children have this game to know that I did not grant these people my permission to pervert my song and am disgusted with the result. Unfortunately I lost the publishing rights on the song many years ago in a settlement with a former partner and the license to Guitar Hero was granted by the company who now owns the publishing. I would never grant permission for some company to create a video game version of a song I wrote in which the devil wins a contest and I'm sorely disappointed with the company who owns the copyright for not policing the situation. As it is they have allowed these people to violate the very essence of the song.
Charlie Daniels - Soap Box
