Charley Pride, the boundary-breaking performer of such hits as “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'” and an icon of country music, died Saturday in Dallas of complications from COVID-19. He was 86.
Known for his rich baritone voice, Pride was the first Black artist to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and only the second Black artist to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Pride was born to sharecroppers in Sledge, Miss. in 1934, the fourth of 11 children, and pursued a career in baseball before turning to music. In 1965, his demo recordings caught the attention of legendary Nashville musician Chet Atkins, who secured Pride a contract with RCA.
“I went into the studio, and I did a demo. And after that, my producer Jack Clement says, ‘What do you want to do?'” Pride recalled in 2019. “I said, ‘I want to go into the studio and make the best records I can make, go out on stage and do them the best I can.’
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