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US country music star Charley Pride, a pioneering Black
singer who racked up 29 number one hits, died Saturday of Covid-19
complications. He was 86.
Pride’s family confirmed his death in a statement, saying he had
passed away in Dallas, Texas.
Born in racially segregated Mississippi in 1934, Pride was
known for 1970s hits including “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” and was
the first African American to be inducted into the Country Music
Hall of Fame.
Signed to RCA Records, he became the label’s biggest-selling
performer since Elvis Presley.
Tributes poured in from country music luminaries in the wake of
the news, with Dolly Parton saying she was “heartbroken”.
“Charley, we will always love you,” she wrote in a tweet.
Singer Billy Ray Cyrus hailed Pride’s role as a “true
trailblazer.”
“He took down walls and barriers meant to divide,” he
said. “He became a bridge of music for music lovers who found
they had way more in common than they had different.”
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Former US president George W. Bush also paid tribute, in a
statement praising Pride as a “fine gentleman with a great
voice.”
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Pride’s death from Covid-19 came a month after he accepted an
award at the 54th annual Country Music Association Awards in
Nashville.
Organizers in the wake of the news defended their decision to go
ahead with the event despite the pandemic, saying Pride had tested
negative prior to attending.
In a statement on his official Facebook page, Pride’s family
said he “felt blessed to have such wonderful fans all over the
world.”
“And he would want his fans to take this virus very seriously,”
they said.
AFP
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