Charley Pride, who passed away on Dec. 12 of coronavirus problems at age 86, remembered breaking barriers as one of the most respected Black nation artists backstage at the Country Music Awards on Nov. 11.
The “Kiss the Angel Good Mornin'” vocalist, who was signed up with onstage by Jimmie Allen, talked to E!’s Spencer Lubitz in the virtual press space at the awards reveal about how he wasn’t the only groundbreaking Black artist at the time leading the way in the music category.
“People state, so how does it feel to make a path for c and w Black vocalists? I stated, well, it’s great with me. But they have actually been stating it to me like that, however we had huge Al Downings, we had Stoney Edwards. A person came, and he was a medical professional, he began when I initially went out…what was his name? Cleve Francis! I dealt with him,” described Pride. “So, I have been given credit for breaking paths for the people that look like one of us.”
