Pat McDonald

He attended Georgia Southern College and then the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and he moved to Nashville in 1997. Two years later he became the drummer of the Charlie Daniels Band, touring and recording with Daniels while also doing session work and teaching. On Joy to the World he played drums, cabasa, shaker and tambourine, including on “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Outside the band he has worked with artists including Tanya Tucker, Victor Wooten and Leon Russell. In May 2016 Daniels announced that McDonald was leaving after seventeen years for family reasons, and Ron Gannaway took over the drum chair from 14 May.