Charley Delight, Pioneering Black Nation Music Singer, Lifeless At 85 – .

Charley Pride, who was the first black man to influence the country charts, has died. He was 86 years old and died of COVID-19 complications in Dallas.

Born in Sledge, Miss., In 1934, Pride became the first black country music superstar and the first black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He is also one of three black artists to become members of the Grand Ole Opry.

He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Country Music Association on November 11th and played his hit song “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin ‘” with Jimmie Allen at the CMA Awards Show at the Music City Center in Nashville.

Pride was also a great athlete, becoming an All-Star of the Negro Baseball League twice. He played for the Memphis Red Sox and Birmingham Black Barons.

The heyday of the singer’s career was in the mid-1970s when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley. His career resulted in 52 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 30 of which reached number one.

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

His best known hits include: “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin”, “Is Anybody Goin ‘to San Antone” and “Mountain of Love”.

Pride was named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1971 and Best Singer in 1971 and 1972.

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