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A Pride in Country Music

Featuring Charley Pride

By Lawrence Edward HincheePublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Charley Pride singing All I have to offer you is me

It doesn't take a genius to figure out when you hear the words Pride and Country Music, you automatically think of Charley Pride. Charley was not only a great country sing, but also the first African American ever in country music. Charley grew up in Mississippi picking cotton, the son of a poor share cropper. His father listened to the Grand Ole Opry all the time. It wasn't uncommon for Charley to be singing along with Chet Atkins, Bill Monroe. The old timers of country music. Charley had a great career spanning many decades. I discovered Charley in 1974 and I have loved his music ever since. Skin color didn't matter to me.

I know this is late for black history month. When I went looking for someone that I respected as a person then Charley would be right up there amongst the top five hundred. When Charley first broke into the country music field, they shielded his race through three single releases from disc jockeys, until his third single came out "Just between you and me", climbed into the country top ten. His gold selling album Country Charley Pride was the first indication many fans had that Charley Pride was indeed black. When Pride showed up in Nashville, he caught the attention of producer Cowboy Jack Clement who took him into the studio to work with the town’s top musicians. Despite having professionally produced songs, Clement and Pride’s manager had trouble finding a label to take him. Then, in 1966, Chet Atkins convinced RCA executives to trust their ears – and not worry about racial politics. Charley’s first singles were released without any mention of his race and early publicity photos were withheld. Audiences were surprised at his live shows, when he would walk out onstage for the first time. Often, he remembers, the venue would fall completely silent.

You could drop a pin. I’d say, “Ladies and gentlemen, I realize it’s kind of unique, me coming out here on a country music show wearing this permanent tan.” The minute I said that, big applause. I guess they said, “Well – let’s sit back and see what he’s got to offer.” Once they heard me sing, (they said), “I don’t care if he’s green. I like his singing.”

Charley Pride was the first black member of the Grand Ole Opry since DeFord Bailey decades earlier; the first black artist to have a number one country record; and the first artist of any race to win the Country Music Association's male vocalist award two years in a row.

Pride’s ability as a pitcher landed him a spot in the Negro League’s Memphis Red Sox when he was just 16. Brief stints with different leagues followed, including an initially promising season with a New York Yankees farm team before an injury sidelined him. It was while playing on a semi-pro team in Montana – the East Helena Smelterites – that Charley, blessed with a deep, resonant voice and a long-time love of country music, began performing in local bars. One of the most successful country singers ever, he would go on to have 29 No. 1 country hits, 52 Top 10s, and twelve gold albums. He has parlayed his entertainment successes into an equally successful business career, making his mark in Texas real estate and banking in the North Dallas community where he and wife Rozene make their home. In 2000, Charley Pride was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Charley won two GRAMMY® Awards related to his Gospel album DID YOU THINK TO PRAY–“Best Sacred Performance, Musical (Non-Classical)” for the album, as well as “Best Gospel Performance Other Than Soul” for the single “Let Me Live.” Later that year, his #1 crossover hit “Kiss An Angel Good Morning” sold over a million singles and helped him to win the Country Music Association’s (CMA) “Entertainer of the Year” award and the “Top Male Vocalist” awards of 1971 and 1972. It also brought him a “Best Male Country Vocal Performance” GRAMMY® Award in 1972. Some of Charley’s unforgettable hits from the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s include “All I Have To Offer You Is Me,” “Is Anybody Goin’ To San Antone,” “Amazing Love,” “Mississippi Cotton Pickin’ Delta Town,” “Burgers And Fries,” “Roll On Mississippi” and “Mountain Of Love.” After parting ways with RCA Records in 1986, Charley spent the remainder of the decade releasing albums on the 16th Avenue Records label.

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About the Creator

Lawrence Edward Hinchee

I am a new author. I wrote my memoir Silent Cries and it is available on Amazon.com. I am new to writing and most of my writing has been for academia. I possess an MBA from Regis University in Denver, CO. I reside in Roanoke, VA.

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