Little Joe Roman

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. 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.