Charley Pride, the first African-American musician to enter the Country Music Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 86.
Pride rose to fame in the 1960s and passed away recently from COVID-19 complications.
Though Pride was not the first African-American singer in country music, he however became one of country music’s famous stars when division existed in the US.
He won three Grammy Awards and won a lifetime achievement award in 2017.
Pride was born in 1934 but served in the US army, played baseball and took up a job in a smelting plant before he started his music career.
No fewer than Fifty-two of his songs made the country Top 10, including the hits “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin” and “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me).”
In his memoir, he wrote: “We’re not colour-blind yet, but we’ve advanced a few paces along the path and I like to think I’ve contributed something to that process.”
He was awarded the Country Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 11, where he made his last public performance.
