| Charley Pride | |
|---|---|
Pride performing at the Capital Centre on the 1981 Inauguration Day |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Charley Frank Pride |
| Born | March 18, 1938 |
| Origin | Sledge, Mississippi, United States |
| Genres | Country music |
| Occupations | Singer Former Professional Baseball player business and radio station owner |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels | RCA 16th Avenue Music City |
| Website | http://www.charleypride.com/ |
Charley Frank Pride (born March 18, 1938) is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley.[1] His chart success and recordings since the late 1980s have been sporadic, but Pride continued touring successfully.
Pride is one of the few Black country musicians to have had considerable success in the largely Caucasian country music industry and the only one to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. In 2010, Pride became a special investor and minority owner of the Texas Rangers baseball club.[2]
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Pride was born in Sledge, Mississippi, one of eleven children of poor sharecroppers. His father intended to name him Charl Frank Pride, but owing to a clerical error on his birth certificate, his legal name is Charley Frank Pride.[3] In his early teens, Pride began playing guitar.
Though he also loved music, one of Pride's life-long dreams was to become a professional baseball player. In 1952, he pitched for the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League. He pitched well, and, in 1953, he signed a contract with the Boise Yankees, the Class C farm team of the New York Yankees. During that season, an injury caused him to lose the "mustard" on his fastball, and he was sent to the Yankees' Class D team in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Later that season, while in the Negro leagues with the Louisville Clippers, he and another player (Jesse Mitchell), were traded to the Birmingham Black Barons for a team bus. "Jesse and I may have the distinction of being the only players in history to be traded for a used motor vehicle," Pride mused in his 1994 autobiography.[4]
He pitched for several other minor league teams, his hopes of making it to the big leagues still alive. Pride appeared to be advancing to a career in baseball, but the Army derailed this. After serving two years in the military, he tried to return to baseball.[5] Though hindered by an injury to his throwing arm, Pride briefly played for the Missoula Timberjacks of the Pioneer League (a farm club of the Cincinnati Reds) in 1960,[6] and had tryouts with the California Angels (1961) and the New York Mets (1962) organizations, but was not picked up by either team. He worked construction in Helena, Montana during this time.[6][7] When it became apparent that he was not destined for greatness on the baseball diamond, Pride pursued a music career.[5]
On June 5, 2008, Pride, his brother, Mack "The Knife" Pride, and 28 other living former Negro league players were "drafted" by each of the 30 Major League Baseball teams in a recognition of the on-field achievements and historical relevance of 30 mostly forgotten Negro league stars. Pride was picked by the Texas Rangers (with whom he has had a long affiliation) while his brother was taken by the Colorado Rockies.[8][9]
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, Tennessee, Pride visited Sun Studios and recorded some songs.[10] One song has survived on tape, and was released in the United Kingdom as part of a box set. The song is a slow stroll in walking tempo called "Walkin' (the Stroll)."[11]
Nashville manager and agent Jack D. Johnson signed Pride and landed him a contract with a record label, and he caught the ear of record producer Chet Atkins. Atkins was the longtime producer of RCA Records who had made stars out of country singers such as Jim Reeves, Skeeter Davis and others. Pride was signed to RCA in 1965. In January 1966, he released his first single with RCA, "The Snakes Crawl at Night", which did not chart. On the records of this song submitted to radio stations for airplay, the singer was listed as "Country Charley Pride". At this time, country music was a white medium. Jack made sure that there were no pictures of Pride distributed for the first two years of his career, in order to avoid the effects of Jim Crowism.
Soon after the release of "The Snakes Crawl at Night", Pride released another single called "Before I Met You", which also did not chart. Soon after, Pride's third single, "Just Between You and Me", was released. This song was the one that finally brought Pride success on the Country charts. The song reached #9 on US Country chart.
The success of "Just Between You and Me" was enormous. He won a Grammy Award for the song the next year.
In 1967, he became the first black performer to appear at the Grand Ole Opry since harmonica player DeFord Bailey.[12] Bailey was a regular cast member of the Opry from 1925 through 1941, and made a final appearance in 1974.[13] Pride also appeared in 1967 on the American Broadcasting Company's "The Lawrence Welk Show".[14]
Between 1969 and 1971 Pride had eight single records that simultaneously 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 over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[15]
Pride sang the Paul Newman directed film Sometimes a Great Notion's main soundtrack song "All His Children" in 1970.[16] The film starred Newman and Henry Fonda and received two Oscar nominations in 1972, one being for the song that Pride sang.[17]
In 1971, he would release what would become his biggest hit "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'", a million-selling crossover single that helped Pride land the Country Music Association's prestigious Entertainer of the Year award, as well as Top Male Vocalist.[18] He won CMA's Top Male Vocalist award again in 1972.[19]
"Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" became Pride's signature tune. Besides being a five-week country #1 in late 1971 and early 1972, the song was also his only pop Top 40 hit, hitting #21, and reaching the Top Ten of the Adult Contemporary charts as well.
During the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s, Pride continued to rack up country music hits. Other Pride standards of the 1970s and 1980s 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, he has paid tribute to Hank Williams, with an album of songs that were all written by Hank entitled 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 has sold over 70 million records (singles, albums, compilation included).[20]
He stayed with RCA Records until 1986. At that point, he grew angry over the fact that the record company began to promote newer artists and not older artists who had been with the company for years. He moved on to 16th Avenue Records, where Pride bounced back with the #5 hit, "Shouldn't it be Easier Than This." He had a few minor hits with 16th Avenue, as well.
Pride's lifelong passion for baseball continues; he has an annual tradition of joining the Texas Rangers for workouts during Spring Training. A big Rangers fan (Dallas has been his home for many years), Pride is often seen at their games.[21]
In 2008, Pride received the Mississippi Arts Commission's lifetime achievement award during the organization's Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts.[22][23]
Pride met his future wife, Rozene, while playing baseball in the southern states. They were married in 1956. They have two sons (Kraig, Dion) and a daughter (Angela). They currently reside in Dallas, Texas.[21] Kraig now goes by the name Carlton and has somewhat followed in his father's footsteps as a performing artist. His band, Carlton Pride and Zion started in San Marcos, Texas in 1995 and they perform a variety of reggae, funk, and soul music throughout the United States.
In 1994 Pride co-wrote (with Jim Henderson) his autobiography, Pride: The Charley Pride Story.[24] In this book he reveals that he has struggled for years with manic depression.
Pride had a tumor removed from his right vocal cord in 1997 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He returned to the site in February 2009 for a routine checkup and surprised the Arkansas Senate with an unplanned performance of five songs. He was joined by Governor Mike Beebe during the show.[25] Pride is an avid fan and part owner[26] of the Texas Rangers. He sang the national anthem before game 5 of the 2010 World Series, played between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants.[27]Pride sang the national anthem before game 2 of the 2011 ALCS between the Detroit Tigers & Texas Rangers
On April 29, 2011 it was announced that a biopic was in the works based on Pride's life and career. The film will be produced by and star actor and professional wrestler, Dwayne Johnson.[28]
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum