Charley Pride did it all-- sing, play guitar, serve in the military, and even play as a professional baseball player. During the peak of his career, he had over fifty top 10 hits on the country charts, over half made it to the number 1 spot. Sadly, Pride passed away on December 12, 2020, due to complications from the coronavirus; he was 86.
In celebration of this trailblazing icon’s birthday, here are our five favorite songs.
“Snakes Crawl at Night”
In 1965, Pride stepped in the recording studio for the first time and what he cut was this song. It did not chart, but Pride would perform it throughout his career. Multiple times he spoke on how he was hesitant to cut the song because of its theme.
“Someone Loves You Honey”
For Pride, this romantic ballad spent two weeks at the top of the charts! However, the song was originally recorded by Johnny Rodriguez in 1974, but Pride released his cover four years later. It would go on to be Pride’s 20th no. 1 hit.
“All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)”
“All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)” was released in 1969 as the first single from his The Best of Charley Pride album. It was Pride’s first no. 1 song, and it was the first time since 1944 that a black musician topped the country charts. Conway Twitty would go on to cover this song one year later.
“Just Between You and Me”
Released in 1966, “Just Between You and Me” was the first single off of Pride of Country Music and his third single ever. It was his first charting single, it spent 19 weeks on Billboard’s chart, and peaked at no. 9.
“Kiss an Angel Good Morning”
This is probably the most known song in his catalog. It peaked at no. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was his eighth song to reach no. 1 on the country charts. It was the first single off of his Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs. According to Billboard, it was one of the top songs of 1972. This masterpiece would later be covered by George Jones, Conway Twitty, Gene Stuart, Roy Clark, Percy Sledge, and Alan Jackson.
