Charley Pride: The Voice That Changed Country Radio

Today is the birthday of Charley Pride. He would be 92 today.

Charley Frank Pride was born on March 18, 1934, in Sledge, Mississippi. But Texas was where he became Charley Pride. He moved to Dallas in the early 1960s after a career in the Negro American League. He was playing semi-pro baseball and singing wherever someone would listen. RCA Records signed him in 1965. They didn’t put his photo on the first singles. Country radio was not yet ready for what Pride was about to do to it.

Twenty-Nine No. 1 Singles

When listeners finally saw Pride on television, some radio stations returned the records. Most didn’t. The music was undeniable. “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'” hit No. 1 in 1971 and crossed to the pop charts. Pride became the first Black member of the Grand Ole Opry since DeFord Bailey. He won the CMA Award for Entertainer of the Year in 1971. Then he won it again in 1972. By the end of his career, he had twenty-nine No. 1 singles. He died December 18, 2020, in Dallas — the city that gave him his start. Find his place items on Texas Music Map and learn more at the Texas State Historical Association.