Country Music’s First Black Superstar, Charley Pride, Dies At 86
Country music legend Charley Pride has died. According to a statement from his publicist provided to RollingStone.com, Pride passed away in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, December 12, due to COVID-19 related complications. Pride was 86.
Known as the first Black man to integrate the nearly all, Southern white genre of country music, Pride's hits include “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'” and “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone.” His music will forever be a part of his historic legacy.
Just last month, Pride was celebrated for his decades of contributions to country music at the CMAs where he performed for the last time publicly and received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement award.
Born in Sledge, Mississippi, Pride was the son of a sharecropper who made it out by joining the Army before eventually trying his hand at music in 1963. His first hit, “Just Between You and Me” made it to the top of the country charts in 1967. Between that time and 1987, Pride is said to have performed on 52 Top 10 hits, according to NBCNews.com
He is survived by his wife, three children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Rest in power to a true legend.
