Baseball and military service When Pride was 14, his mother purchased him his first guitar and he taught himself to play. Pride pitched for several other minor league teams, his hopes of making it to the big leagues still alive, but he was drafted into the
U.S. Army in 1956. After basic training, he was stationed at
Fort Carson, Colorado, where he was a
quartermaster and played on the Fort's baseball team. That team won the All Army Sports Championship. When discharged in 1958, he rejoined the
Memphis Red Sox. Pride played three games for the
Missoula Timberjacks of the
Pioneer League The lead smelter kept 18 jobs open specifically for baseball players, and arranged their shifts so they could play as a team. because Pride's music career was taking off and he required quicker access to an airport.
Rise to fame While he was active in baseball, Pride had been encouraged to join the music business by country stars such as
Red Sovine and
Red Foley, and was working towards this career. In 1958, in
Memphis, Pride visited
Sun Studio and recorded some songs. He performed his music solo at clubs and with a four-piece combo called the Night Hawks during the time he lived in Montana. Nashville manager and agent Jack D. Johnson signed Pride. In 1966, Pride released his first RCA single, "The Snakes Crawl at Night", According to a news item by the
Associated Press, Pride made this comment in a 1992 interview: "They used to ask me how it feels to be the 'first colored country singer' ... Then it was 'first Negro country singer;' then 'first Black country singer.' Now I'm the 'first African-American country singer.' That's about the only thing that's changed".
Career peak The success of "Just Between You and Me" was enormous. Pride was nominated for a
Grammy Award for the song the next year. In the late summer of 1966, on the strength of his early releases, he was booked for his first large show, in Detroit's
Olympia Stadium. Since no biographical information had been included with those singles, few of the 10,000 country fans who came to the show knew Pride was Black and discovered the fact only when he walked onto the stage, at which point the applause trickled off to silence. "I knew I'd have to get it over with sooner or later," Pride later remembered. "I told the audience: 'Friends, I realize it's a little unique, me coming out here – with a permanent suntan – to sing country and western to you. But that's the way it is.' " The show became the first of a long and active career playing to large audiences, his race soon becoming a minor detail compared to his success. In 1967, he became the first Black performer to appear at the
Grand Ole Opry since founding member
DeFord Bailey, who had last appeared in 1941. Between 1969 and 1971, Pride had eight singles that reached number one on the US Country Hit Parade and also charted on the
Billboard Hot 100: "
All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)", "
(I'm So) Afraid of Losing You Again", "
I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me", "
I'd Rather Love You", "
Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone", "
Wonder Could I Live There Anymore", "
I'm Just Me", and "
Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'". The pop success of these songs reflected the country/pop
crossover sound that was reaching country music in the 1960s and early 1970s, known as "
Countrypolitan". In 1969, his
compilation album The Best of Charley Pride sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc. Ultimately, Elvis Presley was the only artist who sold more records than Pride on RCA. The film received two
Oscar nominations in 1972, one for "All His Children".
"Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" In 1971, Pride released what would become his biggest hit, "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'", a million-selling crossover single. The same year, he won the
Country Music Association's entertainer of the year award, as well as its top male vocalist award in 1971 and 1972. "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" became Pride's signature tune. Besides being a five-week country number one in late 1971 and early 1972, the song was also his only
pop top-40 hit, hitting number 21, and reaching the top 10 of the
Adult Contemporary charts, as well.
1970s and Northern Ireland During the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s, Pride continued to rack up country music hits. Other Pride standards from this period include "
Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town", "Someone Loves You, Honey", "
When I Stop Leavin' (I'll Be Gone)", "
Burgers and Fries", "
I Don't Think She's in Love Anymore", "
Roll On Mississippi", "
Never Been So Loved (In All My Life)", and "
You're So Good When You're Bad". Like many other country performers, Pride paid tribute to
Hank Williams, with an album of songs that were all written by Hank titled ''
There's a Little Bit of Hank in Me'', which included top-sellers of Williams' classics "
Kaw-Liga", "
Honky Tonk Blues", and "
You Win Again". Pride sold more than 70 million records (singles, albums, and compilations included). In 1975, 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. At the time,
the Troubles were at their height, and few nonresident music and sports teams traveled there. Aiken subsequently traveled to Pride's winter 1975/'76 concert in
Ohio, and persuaded Pride to play one of the concerts at
Belfast's Ritz Cinema. Pride played the concert in November 1976, with his album song "
Crystal Chandeliers" subsequently being released as a single in the UK and Ireland. 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 Pride's visit enabled Aiken to book further acts into Northern Ireland after his appearance.
1980s and beyond , in 2016 Pride performed the national anthem before game six of the
1980 World Series. He also 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, Pride became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. In 1994, Charley Pride published his book
Pride: The Charley Pride Story. Pride spoke with
John Seigenthaler on
Nashville Public Television about the book and his childhood in Mississippi, the impacts of racism throughout his career, and his battle with depression. In 2016, Pride was selected as one of 30 artists to perform on
Forever Country, a mash-up track of "
Take Me Home, Country Roads", "
On the Road Again", and "
I Will Always Love You", which celebrates 50 years of the
Country Music Association Awards. Pride released his first album in six years, titled
Music in My Heart, on July 7, 2017. In 2020, the CMA announced that Pride would receive the
Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the
54th Country Music Association Awards in recognition of his work in the genre. The CEO of the CMA explained that "Charley Pride is the epitome of a trailblazer. Few other artists have grown country music's rich heritage and led to the advancement of country music around the world like Charley. His distinctive voice has created a timeless legacy that continues to echo through the country community today. We could not be more excited to honor Charley with one of CMA's highest accolades." ==Personal life==