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On This Day: Charlie Daniels Appears on ‘King of the Hill’ in 2002

Charlie Daniels joined a long line of country music stars when he appeared on the popular animated show King of the Hill in 2002. Today marks the anniversary of that appearance.

The plot of the episode revolves around Hank Hill forming a bluegrass band. His neighbor’s daughter, who is a talented violinist and fiddle player, joins the band against the wishes of her father. Later in the episode, she and Hank quit the band, forcing the others to trick Daniels into playing fiddle for them in a competition. You can see the scene here.

But Daniels isn’t the only country music star to appear in that episode. Vince Gill is also in it. His voice is, at least. It’s actually Gill singing for Boomhauer.

King of the Hill was a popular show among country musicians. Many of them appeared either as themselves or as characters in the show. Some of those include Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson, Kid Rock, Randy Travis, Brooks & Dunn, Clint Black, Wynonna Judd, Terri Clark, Charlie Daniels, Martina McBride, and many others.

Tom Petty, who played Lucky, even went on to become one of the supporting characters on the show.

Charlie Daniels Has Done Several Television Appearances

Charlie Daniels’ time on scripted television, isn’t just relegated to animation. He also helped solve a murder in a 1977 TV movie. Daniel and several other country musicians appeared in Murder in Music City.

He joined other guest stars like Ray Stevens, Barbara Mandrell, Ronnie Milsap, Boots Randolph, and Mel Tillis. The star-studded film lent some credence and prestige to the television film that was less about the Grand Ole Opry and more about murder.

The film starred singer Sonny Bono as a fictional version of himself. Bono buys a detective agency and is quickly thrust into a complicated plot. Bono and his new bride discover a dead body in their hotel suite. This leads to trouble, and Bono has to solve the crime before being the next to turn up dead.

Daniel also appeared in the popular television Lee Majors’ show The Fall Guy.

According to IMDb, Daniels appeared as himself in the ninth episode of the third season called “Pirates of Nashville.” In the episode, the son of a record company worker runs from the police in Nashville. The episode also involved a record counterfeiting operation.