Charley Pride, Country music’s first black superstar dies of Coronavirus at 86

Charley Pride, the son of sharecroppers who rose to become country music’s first Black superstar is dead at the age of 86.

The singer who rose to fame in the 1960s, died on Saturday December 12 from COVID-19 complications. While Pride is not the first black singer in country music, he became one of its biggest stars during a period of division in the US.   

In 1971, just four years after his first hit records, he won the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year award, the genre’s highest honor. He won three Grammy Awards, followed by a lifetime achievement award in 2017. 

Charley Pride, the son of sharecroppers who rose to become country music’s first Black superstar is dead at the age of 86.

The singer who rose to fame in the 1960s, died on Saturday December 12 from COVID-19 complications. While Pride is not the first black singer in country music, he became one of its biggest stars during a period of division in the US.   

In 1971, just four years after his first hit records, he won the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year award, the genre’s highest honor. He won three Grammy Awards, followed by a lifetime achievement award in 2017.

In 1967, his recording of “Just Between You and Me” became a Top 10 hit on Billboard’s country music charts. Only then did he quit his smelting job. Fifty-two of his songs reached the country Top 10, including the hits All I Have to Offer You (Is Me) and Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'.