Joel DiGregorio

DiGregorio was killed in a single car accident on Interstate 40 in Cheatham County, Tennessee, on October 12, 2011. He was driving to meet the band's tour bus, which was headed to a concert set for Wednesday night in Cumming, Georgia. He was 67 years old.

A few years later, DiGregorio was drafted and served with the US Army. Upon his return home, he resumed his career with Daniels and following some ensemble changes The Charlie Daniels Band launched what became a commercially successful body of work, beginning with their self-titled debut album in 1970. In 1979, their signature hit "The Devil Went Down To Georgia," which achieved a number 3 placing on the US Pop Charts, was co-written by DiGregorio. In addition to his work with Daniels, he recorded the solo projects Midnight in Savannah (2008) and Shake Rag (2008).

In 1964, he was working with a band that played different types of music. He sang and played bass pedals on the organ. There was a saxophone player in the band named Jerry Kaskie, who was then drafted into the military. Then, they hired a guitarist, who was also drafted. Taz then got a job at a club called the LaFlame near the Air Force base in Orlando. Charlie Daniels went there as the main attraction once, and his guitarist quit and he was playing bass. They decided to have lunch together and Daniels told Joel that if he cut his hair, he could play in his band called the Jaguars.

He fulfilled his goal of becoming a professional musician, initiating his career with his first band, the group Paul Chaplain and his Emeralds, best known for their minor hit "Shortnin' Bread" (1960). They sold about 250,000 copies of their album in 1959. He was on the album at the age of seventeen and he didn't know a lot about life and music, but he knew 8 chords and he recorded the song, Shortnin' Bread, and it became a hit.

By the early 1960s, the group disbanded, leaving DiGregorio to find other gigs which included playing in a lounge band in Florida under the name of Little Joe and the Romans with Bill B. on guitar, Bobby J. on drums, and Ben on bass. They also played at Benny's Rebel Room in Washington, DC and various lounges and clubs in Lexington, Kentucky, Dayton, Ohio and Syracuse, New York. In Lexington, Charlie sat in at the Southland Bowl lounge and, even then was well liked by the audience. It was rumored back then that Joel stuck popsicle sticks into broken organ keys to make the broken keys playable in his earlier years. This was observed by band members while playing at Benny's Rebel Room in 1965.

William Joel "Taz" DiGregorio (January 8, 1944 – October 12, 2011) was a longtime member and keyboardist for the Charlie Daniels Band. He was born and lived in Southbridge, Massachusetts, until 1962 when he went on the road. He was self-taught on the keyboards, practicing from tunes by Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and Little Richard following his attendance at a Ray Charles concert.