Billy Strings And Bryan Sutton Reimagine A Charlie Daniels Classic With Bluegrass Barnburner “The Devil Went Down To Deep Gap”

You ever wonder what would happen if the devil wound up in a high-stakes guitar competition with a prodigious young bluegrass picker?

Honestly, I can’t say the thought has crossed my mind. But I’m sure glad it crossed the minds of Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton.

Two of bluegrass’ best guitarists themselves, Strings and Sutton have collaborated frequently over the years, particularly joining each other for impressive live performances where they’ve proven to have a knack for feeding off of each other’s otherworldly guitar picking.

This week, the duo tipped their caps to one of the most legendary pickers of all with the release of “The Devil Went Down To Deep Gap,” a cleverly-reimagined version of The Charlie Daniels Band classic “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.”

Arguably one of the best country songs of all time, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” needs no introduction. The hit was included on Daniels’ 1979 record Million Mile Reflections, and infamously follows the story of a fiddle player named Johnny who finds himself in a competition with the devil himself, wagering his soul for a fiddle of gold. Luckily Johnny comes out on top, but the competition makes for some killer fiddle solos between Daniels’ verses.

Following a similar story line but reimagining the track to pit a young bluegrass picker against the devil, “The Devil Went Down To Deep Gap” features Billy Strings playing the role of the yet-to-be-named protagonist, and the legendary Del McCoury as the devil. In addition to these artists and Sutton, the all-star cast of bluegrass musicians that contributed to this features Sam Bush, T. Michael Coleman, and Jerry Roe.

When the devil goes on the prowl in the mountains of North Carolina this time, he comes across a young blind picker named Arthel (played by Strings), with whom he wagers a golden guitar for his soul in a guitar competition.

Now, any real bluegrass fan likely knew exactly who the picker getting pitted against the devil in this story was from the title of the song. But the blind anecdote and the guitarist’s name certainly ought to give the identity away. Either way, the picker remains unidentified through the beginning verses as the devil takes his turn first, shredding through a blistering electric guitar solo.

When Arthel’s turn comes around, he goes into a full-blown acoustic guitar picking attack, and as you probably suspected, defeats the devil handedly and is gifted the golden guitar. Then the picker’s identity officially comes to light.

“The devil bowed his head because he knew that he had been beat
And he laid that golden guitar on the ground at Arthel’s feet
He said, ‘Devil, you can come back if you want another shock
But if you ever show your face around here from now on, call me Doc'”

So there you have it. Written for guitar instead of fiddle, this reimagined version of Charlie Daniels’ classic pits the devil against the late Deep Gap, NC native Arthel Lane Watson, better known as “Doc” Watson, the blind flatpicking and fingerpicking phenom whose music and playing style has influenced just about every bluegrass guitarist since. And perhaps none more than Billy Strings.

An extremely creative idea, this version of the song gives an entertaining origin story to one of bluegrass’ most supernatural figures, and hopefully introduces a larger audience to his spectacular music. Watson passed away in 2012 at the age of 89, but his impact is still felt any time a bluegrass note is played, and his spirit shines through in the ever-growing magnitude of the scene that Strings is trailblazing.

With that, give a handful of the Doc Watson songs that were name-dropped in “The Devil Went Down To Deep Gap” a listen below.

“Black Mountain Rag”

“Deep River Blues”

“Reuben’s Train”

“Shady Grove”

And for good measure, here’s The Charlie Daniels Band ripping through the original version, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.” What a heater.

The post Billy Strings And Bryan Sutton Reimagine A Charlie Daniels Classic With Bluegrass Barnburner “The Devil Went Down To Deep Gap” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.