43 Facts About Charley Pride

Charley Frank Pride was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player.

Charley Pride was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.

Charley Pride was born on March 18,1934, in Sledge, Mississippi, the fourth of eleven children of poor sharecroppers.

Charley Pride's father intended to name him Charl Frank Pride, but owing to a clerical error on his birth certificate, his legal name was Charley Frank Pride.

When Charley Pride was 14, his mother purchased him his first guitar and he taught himself to play.

Charley Pride pitched for several other minor league teams, his hopes of making it to the big leagues still alive, but was drafted into the United States Army in 1956.

Charley Pride tried to return to baseball, though hindered by an injury to his throwing arm.

Charley Pride played three games for the Missoula Timberjacks of the Pioneer League in 1960, and had tryouts with the California Angels and the New York Mets organizations, but was not picked up by either team.

Charley Pride was recruited to pitch for the local semipro baseball team, the East Helena Smelterites, and the team manager helped him get a job at the local Asarco lead smelter.

Charley Pride's singing ability soon came to the attention of the team manager, who paid him to sing for 15 minutes before each game, which increased attendance and earned Charley Pride another $10 on top of the $10 he earned for each game.

Charley Pride played gigs in the local area, both solo and with a band called the Night Hawks, and Asarco asked him to sing at company picnics.

Charley Pride moved his wife and son to join him and they lived in Helena until 1967, purchasing their first home there, and with their children Dion and Angela being born at the local hospital.

The Charley Pride family moved to Great Falls, Montana, in 1967, because Charley Pride's music career was taking off and he required quicker access to an airport.

Charley Pride has generally spoken with fondness of the near-decade he spent there.

Charley Pride was picked by the Texas Rangers, with whom he has had a long affiliation, and the Colorado Rockies took his brother Mack.

In 1958, in Memphis, Charley Pride visited Sun Studio and recorded some songs.

Charley Pride performed his music solo at clubs and with a four-piece combo called the Night Hawks during the time he lived in Montana.

Charley Pride's break came when Chet Atkins at RCA Records heard a demonstration tape and got Pride a contract.

Charley Pride was nominated for a Grammy Award for the song the next year.

Since no biographical information had been included with those singles, few of the 10,000 country fans who came to the show knew Charley Pride was Black and discovered the fact only when he walked onto the stage, at which point the applause trickled off to silence.

In 1969, his compilation album, The Best of Charley Pride, sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Charley Pride performed "All His Children", featured in the film Sometimes a Great Notion.

In 1971, Charley Pride released what would become his biggest hit, "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'", a million-selling crossover single.

In 1975, Charley Pride's agent sold a 40-date tour package to a United Kingdom booking agent, who onward sold four dates to the Dublin-based Irish music promoter Jim Aiken.

Charley Pride played the concert in November 1976, with his album song "Crystal Chandeliers" subsequently being released as a single in the UK and Ireland.

Charley Pride subsequently became a hero to both sides of the conflict for breaking the effective touring concert ban, his song "Crystal Chandeliers" was seen as a unity song, and the success of Charley Pride's visit enabled Aiken to book further acts into Northern Ireland after his appearance.

Charley Pride performed the national anthem before game six of the 1980 World Series.

Charley Pride performed the national anthem at Super Bowl VIII and again at game five of the 2010 World Series, accompanied both years by the Del Rio High School JROTC Color Guard.

On May 1,1993, Charley Pride became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Charley Pride celebrated his 25th anniversary of becoming a member with performances at the Opry on May 4 and 5,2018.

In 1994, Charley Pride published his book Pride: The Charley Pride Story.

Charley Pride spoke with John Siegenthaler on Nashville Public Television about the book and his childhood in Mississippi, the impacts of racism throughout his career, and his battle with depression.

Charley Pride released his first album in six years, titled Music in My Heart, on July 7,2017.

In 2020, the CMA announced that Charley Pride would receive the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th Country Music Association Awards in recognition of his work in the genre.

Charley Pride met his wife Rozene while playing baseball in Memphis, Tennessee.

Charley Pride had a tumor removed from his right vocal cord in 1997 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Charley Pride returned to the site in February 2009 for a routine checkup and surprised the Arkansas Senate with an unplanned performance of five songs.

Charley Pride was joined by Governor Mike Beebe during the show.

Charley Pride was a fan and part owner of the Texas Rangers.

Charley Pride performed the national anthem at some of the Rangers' games.

Charley Pride is a distant relative of blues guitarist and singer Christone "Kingfish" Ingram.

Charley Pride died from complications related to COVID-19 in Dallas, on December 12,2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas.

In September 2022, Tyler Charley Pride said that the lawsuit had been settled for undisclosed terms.