12 December 2020
Newsdesk
Country music pioneer Charley Pride has died at 86.
The singer passed away on Saturday of complications from Covid-19.
Country's first Black superstar enjoyed 29 number ones and multiple top 10 hits in the U.S. charts with songs like Crystal Chandeliers, Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone, and Mountain of Love.
Pride began his career in the 1960s, and won the CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1971 and three Grammys the following year for his gospel songs Let Me Live and Did You Think to Pray.
In 1973, he picked up another Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for the album Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs.
In 2000, 33 years after he became the first Black performer to appear at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in more than a quarter of a century, he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Just last month, he performed Kiss An Angel Good Mornin' when he received the Country Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award at Nashville's Music City Center.
Dolly Parton was among the first pay tribute to Pride following the news of his death - she wrote: "I'm so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away. It's even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19. What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you."
