Charlie Daniels vs. Guitar Hero -- Vulture -- Entertainment & Culture Blog -- New York Magazine

Photo: Getty Images, Courtesy of Activision

If you had asked us, we'd probably have told you the worst possible side effects of playing too much Guitar Hero III were blistered fingers and a renewed appreciation for the Scorpion's Love at First Sting (which is approximately 6 percent better than you remember). According to 71-year-old country-music star Charlie Daniels — whose song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is featured in a later stage of the game — though, the dangers of GHIII are a little more serious.

Via his blog (yes, he has one):

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. [...]

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.

At this time I don't know if I have any legal recourse, probably not, but I wanted you folks to know that I vehemently disagree with what has been done to a piece of my work. And would like to pass along a little advice to parents of young children.

This game looks innocent enough but if you have a child who is playing it, take the time to sit with him or her while they're playing along and take a serious look at the images on the screen.

Below is a video of the relevant guitar battle with Satan, and, we'd like to point out, Satan only wins if you suck at Guitar Hero III.