Charley Pride (RIP) - North Wind

1974 - RCA Victor Records Album - Pride Of America
Charley Pride (RIP) - North Wind
Written By ~ Rod Morris
From Charley's 19th RCA Victor Records studio album "Pride Of America"...Enjoy!

Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Records. During the peak years of his recording career (1966–1987), he had 52 top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 30 of which made it to number one. He won the Entertainer of the Year award at the Country Music Association Awards in 1971 and was awarded a Grammy for "Best Country Vocal Performance, Male" in 1972.

Pride is one of three African-American members of the Grand Ole Opry (the others being DeFord Bailey and Darius Rucker). He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.

Pride was born on March 18, 1934, in Sledge, Mississippi, the fourth of eleven children of poor sharecroppers. His father intended to name him Charley Frank Pride, but owing to a clerical error on his birth certificate, his legal name was Charley Frank Pride. Eight boys and three girls were in the family. His elder brother, Mack Pride, played Negro league baseball before entering the ministry.

Charley became the first black performer to appear at the Grand Ole Opry since founding member DeFord Bailey, who had last appeared in 1941. Between 1969 and 1971, Pride had eight singles that reached number one on the US Country Hit Parade and also charted on the Billboard Hot 100: "All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)", "(I'm So) Afraid of Losing You Again", "I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me", "I'd Rather Love You", "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone", "Wonder Could I Live There Anymore", "I'm Just Me", and "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'". The pop success of these songs reflected the country/pop crossover sound that was reaching country music in the 1960s and early 1970s, known as "Countrypolitan". In 1969, his compilation album, The Best of Charley Pride, sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Ultimately, Elvis Presley was the only artist who sold more records than Pride for RCA.

Pride performed "All His Children", featured in the film Sometimes a Great Notion (1971). The film received two Oscar nominations in 1972, one for "All His Children".

In 2016, Pride was selected as one of 30 artists to perform on Forever Country, a mash-up track of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "On the Road Again", and "I Will Always Love You", which celebrates 50 years of the Country Music Association Awards. Pride released his first album in six years, titled Music in My Heart, on July 7, 2017.

In 2020, the CMA announced that Pride would receive the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th Country Music Association Awards in recognition of his work in the genre. The CEO of the CMA explained that "Charley Pride is the epitome of a trailblazer. Few other artists have grown country music's rich heritage and led to the advancement of country music around the world like Charley. His distinctive voice has created a timeless legacy that continues to echo through the country community today. We could not be more excited to honor Charley with one of CMA's highest accolades."

Pride met his wife Rozene while playing baseball in Memphis, Tennessee. They married in 1956 while Pride was on Christmas leave from Army basic training. The couple had two sons, Kraig and Dion, and a daughter, Angela. They also had five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. They resided in Dallas.

Pride died from complications related to COVID-19 in Dallas, on December 12, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas. He was 86 years old.

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