Charley Pride Statue Unveiled at the Ryman Auditorium
A life-sized likeness of Charley Pride now adorns the grounds of the Country Music Mother Church in Nashville, a.k.a. The Ryman Auditorium where the Grand Ole Opry was held for many years. A Grand Ole Opry member, Pride’s bronze statue now joins other iconic Opry stars Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn, and Little Jimmy Dickens as part of the building’s “Icon Walk.”
The statue was unveiled on Wednesday, April 12th in a ceremony at The Ryman after having been delayed a couple of weeks after the school shooting in Nashville right before the original ceremony was scheduled to take place. Pride’s wife of 60 years Rozene Pride was in attendance and spoke, as did Charley’s son and performer Dion Pride.
“He has often been called the Jackie Robinson of country music,” said Rozene Pride. “The only difference was Jackie Robinson was picked for the role. Pride picked country music because he loved it and that was his life.”
Dion Pride added, “He loved his fans – in fact, his fans drove him. All of you drove him. You are the reason why he was the success he was. Everything he did was for you.”
Actor Dennis Quaid was also on hand. Quaid is currently producing a movie on Charley Pride’s life.
Born in Sledge, Mississippi as the forth child of 11 children to a sharecropper, Charley Pride challenged the notion that country music was a white man’s genre. Between 1967 and 1987, Pride delivered 52 Top 10 country hits, and had 29 #1’s. He won the CMA’s coveted Entertainer of the Year in 1971, along with Male Vocalist of the Year in 1971 and 1972. Along with Grammy Awards and other accolades, Charley Pride was one of the most successful, accomplished, and influential country artists of all time.
In the mid 70’s, Charley Pride was RCA’s best-selling artist since Elvis Presley. Pride became the first black country artists to sing at the Grand Ole Opry (harmonica player DeFord Bailey was the first performer), where he was invited to become a member in 1993. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. Pride passed away on December 12th, 2020 at the age of 86.
“Charley Pride broke barriers and defied stereotypes, becoming one of the most successful and beloved country music artists of all time,” said Ryman Hospitality Properties Executive Chairman Colin Reed at the ceremony. “The Ryman Icon Walk honors not only his contributions and the groundwork he laid for countless other artists in country music, but also to the Ryman, where he performed many times throughout his career. Charley’s influence will always be felt throughout the entire Nashville community, and his addition to the Ryman Icon Walk is our way of paying tribute to his incredible talent and enduring legacy.”
April 13, 2023 @ 11:53 am
Well deserved. My only comlaint is he fired his incredible pedal steel guitarist Joe Wright from his band many years ago. But that is another story. Mr. Pride was groundbreaking.
I love the Faron young-Charley Pride stories.
April 13, 2023 @ 11:54 am
Charley pride is one of my favorite country singers. Absolutely top of the list. Beating out some of the most famous and most significant artists that most people think of as being the country music legends.
What I think separates Charley pride from the lakes of George Jones, Merle Haggard, Willie, Waylon, etc., is that all of those guys filled their art with their personality and their life experiences
And that’s a good thing. That’s the most essential part of creating art versus creating a product, is human experience
But sometimes I just don’t feel the tough guy heartbreaker leather jacket man’s man in Waylon Jennings, I don’t feel the esoteric philosopher of Willie Nelson
But some thing about Charley pride is instinctively familiar. In a way that very few people in country music ever achieved. Something about the way he carried himself, the way he intimated he’s styling into all of his songs, that silly smile. He just felt familiar. Like you could just walk up and talk to him like you’ve known him for 1000 years.
There was no bravado or presentation about Charley pride. He was just a guy who sang country music.
And I think his choice of material reflects this very humble, non-attention hungry personality
So much of Charley pride’s material is just this very sedate, almost under produced music, Subtle enough that in a playlist of more bombastic, producers and songwriters, it could easily slip through the cracks if you aren’t thinking directly about it.
If you put ‘burgers and fries’ Or ‘is anybody going to San Antone’ In a country music playlist, and they come on between he stopped loving her today, and if we make it through December, it’s easy to overlook Charley pride by direct comparison.
I think that’s why he has so many dedicated fans, but fewer casual fans
And I think that’s why country music historians frequently discount or underestimate his contributions. Because there are so many larger than life superstars, who left an impact on country music.
They sang loud, they played loud, they hit the high notes, they paid off the top songwriters to get the biggest smash hits, they burned the house down in every theater they could get into
They were celebrities, they were big personalities
And Charley pride was just Charlie bride, just a guy singing country music. No theatrics, no drama to speak of, No flashy showmanship,
He was just the real deal. In a way that very few people in country music are real.
We’re talking Alan Jackson, every-man level
I imagine anybody could sit with Charley pride and Alan Jackson on the porch and watch it rain. I’m not sure I can imagine sitting with Waylon Jennings and Porter Wagoner on the same porch.
The statue is long overdue. And it’s about time more people were made aware how awesome Charley pride was.
April 13, 2023 @ 7:07 pm
Can’t comment about Porter, but I know for a fact that Waylon had MUCH better things to do than sit on a porch and watch it rain.
March 17, 2024 @ 7:06 pm
Yeah, like whine and moan about how the next generation eclipsed his popularity.
April 13, 2023 @ 7:35 pm
Fuzzlito,
That right there is a good comment, and I appreciate you typing it up for me.
April 13, 2023 @ 7:54 pm
Sitting on a porch with Charley Pride and Alan Jackson and watching it rain sounds pretty awesome.
April 13, 2023 @ 12:06 pm
Nice to see a legend like Charlie pride be honored like this, well deserved. He has always been one of my favorite singers, not just country, but in any genre of music.
April 13, 2023 @ 12:37 pm
I am so happy to see this happen Charley Pride has just as much of a resume as Cash, Waylon, Willie, & many others from that era, like the previous comment stated he is highly overlooked which is a shame. Charley Pride was one of a kind I throw him in the same category as Don Williams (who is also often overlooked) & what hurts these two from being on the same level as Waylon, Willie, or Cash is they really didn’t do anything ground breaking to separate themselves from the pack the way the “Outlaws” did but Country Music was their heart they are true Country Artists. Not saying Cash, Waylon, & Willie weren’t but I’m not sure Country Music was in their hearts the way it was for guys like Charley Pride & Don Williams. For Waylon, Willie, & Cash Country Music was their roots but not their hearts they never pulled their roots out but they added other genres to it & added layers to their music & created something different & unique. But on the flip side sometimes not creating something different is unique all unto itself & that’s what makes Charley & Don different from the others while everyone else was trying to be cutting edge & keep up with the changing pace of the industry they just continue to stick with their hearts & made true Country Music. I love Charley Pride “You’re My Jamaica” is one of my favorite albums & it’s sad to see these legends go away but unfortunately that’s part of life everything has a season. I envy my parents & grandparents generations they got to see this stuff go down before their very eyes & ears…I couldn’t imagine being a youth & turning on the radio hearing this great music coming through the speakers for the 1st time. Congratulations Charley you deserved this. ????
April 13, 2023 @ 1:31 pm
This statue was a great idea. They have similar statues around Busch stadium in st Louis, always like seeing them. Pride definitely deserves such recognition. One thing I loved about him is while I’m sure he faced a lot of racism at different points in his career and personal life, he didn’t use it as a crutch. He was great to listen to. Like someone else above said, I could definitely imagine sitting on a porch with him and just casually talking. He would be a guy I would definitely like to know his thoughts on things. I’ve never been to the ryman but this makes me want to go even moreso.
April 13, 2023 @ 1:42 pm
I am glad he was given a statue, but it doesn’t resemble him much.
His “Live in Canada” concert is available on YouTube. Highly recommended.
April 13, 2023 @ 1:47 pm
He also contributed to that song “Forever Country” back in 2016 giving him another #1.
April 13, 2023 @ 5:11 pm
Did the “white sheep” of the family show up for the unveiling?
April 13, 2023 @ 6:56 pm
Right. Wonder where Tyler Pride was?
April 13, 2023 @ 6:21 pm
Charley pride was also a very good guitarist as well. He was a great artist! Rest in peace.
April 13, 2023 @ 7:02 pm
Sorry to put a damper on things, but Charley Pride was far from one of the greatest country music singers. He was competent, to be sure, but, as the Statler Brothers song so aptly described it, he had a “gimmick,” and that “gimmick” unjustifiably amplified virtually every song he sang.
April 14, 2023 @ 7:27 am
Put a fella on to this Statler song. What’s it called?
April 14, 2023 @ 7:40 am
How to Be a Country Star. Statler brothers song circa 1977.
April 14, 2023 @ 7:32 am
Tex
I know the Statler Bros song you refer to. It’s a fun goofy tongue in cheek thing. As for ” a gimmick” , I think that back in the day, it would have been a hinderance, given the race tensions of the time. Despite that, Pride made it legitimately. He won over Faron Young, which was a pretty big deal. His talent was evident and he earned his superstar status. He’s got tons of number 1s to his name. As to being the best or greatest true country singer, I’m not aware anyone’s calling him that. Jones, IMO can have that distinction. Pride was a fine singer, though, and ranks up there with many of his peers. I’m not one to get excited about statues in general, but I see no problem with his. It’s a win for real Country music.
April 14, 2023 @ 7:35 am
Charley is top-10 all-time.
April 15, 2023 @ 3:45 pm
Who is your top-10, Honky?
It probably blows InsaneFan68’s mind that you and I have Pride in our top-10 lists.
Actually, Pride is top-5 for me.
April 14, 2023 @ 3:59 pm
There is no bigger fan of the Statler Brothers on this site, or just about anywhere, than me. And I know that the Reids wrote it with nothing but love for Charley Pride (and the others named). But it was never a great song, and at the end of the day, frankly hasn’t aged well.
April 14, 2023 @ 4:36 pm
@DMI–You nailed that.
I’m not a big Pride fan, but the “gimmick” line lands like the proverbial lead balloon.
April 15, 2023 @ 7:27 am
I may have to disagree with you on that point. I am an absolute HUGE Statler Brothers fan. It’s always nice to meet a fellow fan. Are you aware that on iTunes all of their Mercury era albums are now on it along with Lew DeWitt’s solo material?
April 15, 2023 @ 8:00 am
Nice, likewise! Thanks, that is good to know- I just use Amazon for streaming and they don’t have everything.
Last year the Statlers auctioned off a bunch of old records and memorabilia (it seemed like Don Reid was basically cleaning out his attic) here in Augusta County, Va. I came away with about 10 of the old Mercury records from the 70s on Vinyl, still in the plastic.
One of my co-workers said something about keeping them wrapped as a collectors item- I said, “no, I bought them to play them!”
April 15, 2023 @ 8:24 am
No. He was presented as “Country Charley Pride” with no pictures released with his records at first. There was no gimmick. His incredible voice and talent and song selection needed no gimmicks.
April 13, 2023 @ 7:04 pm
Charlie pride deserves the honors, no doubt. But they should have tried to make it look him.
April 14, 2023 @ 9:15 pm
He was my sister’s all-time favorite country singer. She died in October. Her birthday is Tuesday. I’ll consider this an early birthday present for Big Sister.