The Pride of Country Music

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…