Clack: After year of loss, flickers of light and hope expressnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from expressnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
January 1, 2021
It’s was a tough year for just about everyone, but the country music community was hit especially hard in 2020.
While we look forward to a better year in 2021, it’s also a good time to reflect back on 2020 and remember all it has taken a lot from us. Singer, songwriters, reporters, radio show hosts, band members, and many others who impacted country music positively have gone as well.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of everybody that we lost this year, but a chance to celebrate the lives of some of the more notable musicians who have died this year. Here are a few of their greatest songs to remember them by.
Pioneering country music singer Charley Pride (1934-2020) dies of COVID-19
Country music singer Charley Pride died from the COVID-19 virus on December 12 in Dallas at age 86. He was the first African American artist to achieve major success in country music, signing with the RCA Victor label in 1966. He produced at least 30 chart-topping country songs through the late 1980s and sold over 70 million records worldwide.
Pride is best known for songs of love and heartache, including “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’,” “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone?”, “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me),” “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “Streets of Baltimore,” “I Can’t Believe You’ve Stopped Loving Me” and “Just Between You and Me.”
Charley Pride was the Jackie Robinson of country music.
Pride was the first major Black country artist, selling 25 million records, landing on the charts and selling out shows for decades. He was the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and one of just three Black artists to become members of the Grand Ole Opry.
Pride died Dec. 12 at 86. His family said COVID-19 complications caused his magnificent voice to go silent.
When I was younger, I disliked country music. Growing up on a farm, I was surrounded by it as my parents listened to it on the radio and played country records as well.
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