Charley Frank Pride (born March 18, 1938 in Sledge, Mississippi) is a former Negro League baseball player who became the only African American to have a successful career in country music.

Background

Pride was one of eleven children born to desperately poor sharecroppers. He grew up dreaming of being a baseball player and met his future wife, Rozene, while playing for the Memphis Red Sox in Memphis, Tennessee. Pride played guitar and sang while touring as a baseball player.

Early music success

When it became clear that he would not become a Major League Baseball player, he turned to music as a full time career. He was introduced to producer Jack Clement , who gave him two songs to record, The Snakes Crawl at Night and Atlantic Coastal Line. Clement gave Pride’s two-song demo to the head of RCA Records in Nashville, Chet Atkins, who signed him to the label. Atkins and Clement considered not disclosing that he was black until the records were established, but Atkins decided that it was unfair to all concerned. Pride’s first single was broadcast in January 1966. Within a short period of time, both songs became hits.

Music career

Pride has garnered more than 36 number one country singles and sold over 70 million albums, 31 gold and 4 platinum, including one quadruple platinum. On RCA Records, Charley Pride is second in sales only to Elvis Presley.

Kiss An Angel Good Morning was a million-selling crossover single and helped Pride land Country Music Association Awards as Entertainer of the Year in 1971 and Top Male Vocalist in 1971 and 1972.

Other Pride standards include Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone?, I'm So Afraid of Losing You Again, Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town," "Someone Loves You Honey," "When I Stop Leaving I'll be gone," "Burgers and Fries, and You're So Good When You're Bad. Like many other country performers, he has paid tribute to Hank Williams with performances of Williams' classics Kaw-Liga and Honky Tonk Blues, both of which are on the album There's a Little Bit of Hank in Me.

Chronology

• May 1, 1993: Pride accepted an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry, in the process becoming the first African-American honoree in its more than 70-year history.
• 1994: Pride released his autobiography, Pride: The Charley Pride Story (published by William Morrow).
• June 1994: Pride was honored by the Academy of Country Music with its prestigious Pioneer Award.
• January 1996: Pride was honored with a Trumpet Award by Turner Broadcasting, marking outstanding African-American Achievement. His Roll On Mississippi was considered as the official song of his home state, a stretch of Mississippi highway was named for him, and he headlined a special Christmas performance for President and Mrs. Clinton at the White House.
• July 1999: Pride received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• October 4, 2000, Charley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His name was announced by Brenda Lee.
• 2003: Pride's album Comfort of Her Wings is released on Music City Records .

Trivia

Pride returned to his hometown of Sledge and purchased the cotton farm where he had been born.

External link

• Charley Pride Home Page has a short phrase from "Kiss an Angel Good Morning".