Charley Pride was more than just a pioneer
Charley Pride was aptly surnamed.
The man had pride and dignity. Serving as a trailblazer is a blessing and a curse. You are known as a pioneer, which is a huge positive, for your position helps those who follow, but there are negatives. You become a symbol, and Pride was more than a symbol; he was a great artist.
Pride was an anomaly — a black country western star. But, as with many minorities in entertainment during the 1950s and ’60s, the term “first black country star” was too narrow and confining. He was a star, period.
He died at his home in Dallas last week. Associates said the death was related to complications from COVID-19. He was 86.
Pride recorded at least 30 No. 1 hits on the country music charts, including “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone?” It is one of his most melancholy songs, delivered with his voice, but emanating from his heart. Pride had a way of expressing vulnerability while remaining strong and forthright.
The death came a month after his final performance, on Nov. 11, when he received a lifetime achievement award from the Country Music Association. He sang “Kiss an Angel Good Morning,” one of his biggest hits. Fans heard him live, for the last time — that rich, warm baritone that made great lyrics greater.
“Well, you might not believe it, but I’m as nervous as can be,” he said after receiving the award. “All my fans, I want to say thank you. … Well, I’m through talking. I just want to thank everybody again.” Pride displayed, in that poignant message, the grace and humility that had been his trademark for more than five decades.
“When I got into it, they used different descriptions,” he told National Public Radio before the ceremony. “They’ll say, ‘Charley, how did it feel to be the Jackie Robinson of country music? It don’t bother me, other than I have to explain it to you — how I had to maneuver around all these obstacles to get where I am today.”
Born on March 18, 1934, in Sledge, Miss., he grew up less than 300 miles from the city where he experienced some of his greatest triumphs — Nashville. It seemed like a harbinger of future glory. Still, while geography may have smiled on him, there were detours on the road to stardom.
After serving in the Army, he pursued a career in the Negro American League, followed by a stint in the minor leagues. He discovered that wielding a guitar was easier than wielding a bat. The 30-yearold signed with RCA in 1965, recording his first hit two years later, “Just Between You and Me,” the first in a long string.
Pride won three Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award, and his star is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but part of his heart remained in baseball. He became part owner of the Texas Rangers, becoming a fixture in the stands. Pride sang the national anthem at the home opener last season.
“I’m so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away,” Dolly Parton tweeted. “It’s even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19. What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you.” Following his death, speculation arose that he may have contracted the disease at the CMA Awards ceremony in Nashville.
“Everyone affiliated with the CMA Awards followed strict protocols outlined by the city health department and unions,” CMA representatives said in a statement. “Charley was tested prior to traveling to Nashville.”
We may never know where Pride contracted the disease, but if it was during the ceremony, it would represent a sad coda to an already heartbreaking story.