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Originally published on December 16, 2020 11:57 am
In 1966, Charley Pride s debut country single, The Snakes Crawl at Night, was deliberately mailed out to radio stations without a photo of him. That way, his label strategized, his voice alone would inform the industry s first impression before Pride s African American identity was widely known. On the one hand, this oft-repeated tale underscores the blatant racism of the 1960s country music business and, on the other, the belief that his singing could nonetheless sell itself. Within months, his anonymity had ended and his hits had begun, initiating a phenomenal run of commercial success that would stretch into the mid- 80s, across massive stylistic and cultural upheaval.
Charley Pride, Pioneering Country Music Star, Dies at 86 of COVID-19
Pride received a lifetime achievement award at the CMA Awards last monthReid Nakamura | December 12, 2020 @ 1:04 PM Last Updated: December 12, 2020 @ 6:33 PM
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Charley Pride, one of the first Black performers to break through in the country music scene, has died at the age of 86.
According to his representatives, Pride died of complications from COVID-19 on Saturday, just weeks after his final performance at the CMA Awards show back in November.
Known for hits like “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’,” “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone” and “Mountain of Love,” Pride went on to become the genre’s first Black superstar and the first Black inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
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