CMAs Issue Statement After Concerns Over the Death of Charley Pride
Country legend Charlie Pride passed away on Saturday, December 12th due to complications from COVID-19, his family and representative have confirmed. Amid his death, much speculation arose of where Charley Pride may have contracted the virus, and if it was at the 2020 CMA Awards on November 11th, where a tribute to Charley Pride was the centerpiece of the presentation, including a performance by Jimmie Allen, the presenting of Pride with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, followed by a performance by Charley Pride himself, and an extended interval for Pride to make a speech.
Despite the CMA Awards putting in place multiple COVID-19 protocols, including limiting capacity inside the awards, and testing all participants—which included the removal of multiple performers from the awards for either testing positive or for potential exposure, including Lady A, fiddle player Jenee Fleenor, and Florida Georgia Line member Tyler Hubbard—many were still concerned about the lack of social distancing and mask wearing that was part of the event. Many specifically showed concern for Charley Pride, who was 86-years-old, and has suffered numerous health issues in recent years.
In the aftermath of Pride’s death, numerous blue-chekmarked journalists and performers took to Twitter to openly speculate that Charley Pride had contracted COVID-19 at the CMA Awards, including Maren Morris, who attended the CMAs herself. Saving Country Music reached out to both the CMAs, and representatives for the team and estate for Charley Pride for clarification on a timeline of when Pride tested positive, and if they knew where he had contracted the disease. Charley Pride’s publicist, Jeremy Westby, responded early Saturday evening (12-12) with a statement from the CMA that has been approved by Charley Pride’s representatives. The statement has subsequently been released to the public.
“Everyone affiliated with the CMA Awards followed strict testing protocols outlined by the city health department and unions,” the CMA statement reads. “Charley was tested prior to traveling to Nashville. He was tested upon landing in Nashville, and again on show day, with all tests coming back negative. After returning to Texas following the CMA Awards, Charley again tested negative multiple times. All of us in the Country Music community are heartbroken by Charley’s passing. Out of respect for his family during their grieving period, we will not be commenting on this further.”
The family has also issued a statement beyond the press release disseminated earlier on Saturday announcing Pride’s death. “He was admitted to the hospital in late November with Covid-19 type symptoms and despite the incredible efforts, skill and care of his medical team over the past several weeks, he was unable to overcome the virus. Charley felt blessed to have such wonderful fans all over the world. And he would want his fans to take this virus very seriously.”
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, joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1993, and being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:04 pm
A couple of additional things here:
1) This statement by the CMA Awards is basically their side of the story, and should be taken as such. With the way this disease operates, folks can be exposed, test negative for a while, and then eventually test positive and get ill from the virus. There is still no guarantee that Charley Pride did not get COVID-19 at the CMA’s. However, with both the timeline, and with the fact that IF this statement contained false information it would create both a publicity and legal disaster for the organization, there is no reason to believe they are lying.
2) The CMA’s carelessness when it came to the 2020 CMA Awards, especially compared to the ACMs which did a much better job, is the reason this speculation has been so rampant. They brought this on themselves. People were worried about Pride in the wake of the 2020 CMAs, and lo and behold, he ends up contracting COVID-19, and dying.
3) It is unfortunately that so many in the media with blue checkmarks by their name feel the need to give into wild speculation (while ironically prefacing their statements with “I Don’t want to speculate, but…”) for the purpose of generating dopamine-inducing interactions on social media as opposed to actually doing the work of journalism to reach out to affiliated parties and get the information and facts to inform the public.
The CMAs continue to be an organization that is very problematic to the effort to create a healthy, and equitable environment in country music. But lying about how the CMAs released a statement stifling speech at the 2020 Awards, and accusing them of killing Charley Pride before even allowing representatives for the affected and bereaved parties to give statements and clarify information is irresponsible and unprofessional. It also hurts when legitimate grievances against the CMAs come up, because they end up bleeding into the background as just noise from “boy who cried wolf” syndrome.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:05 pm
I had the same thought the blue checks did. And the CMA plan sure sounds like the same plan that worked out so well for the Trump administration.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:17 pm
And it got needlessly political in a single post. Congratulations, you’re a douche.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:26 pm
‘sigh’ You went for needless name calling instead of thinking.
This exact plan was how the Trump administration handled events like the one for the new justice where several people including the President got covid. It’s the most famous example of the point that these plans don’t have a stellar record for success.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:31 pm
Folks, we’re not going to veer into discussions of Trump or anything else overtly political here. Only warning. I don’t want to delete comments, but I will.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:36 pm
To be clear I only intended to give another example of this kind of plan not working. This was the one that was quite famous.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:06 am
You’re a prick. Go to hell.
December 14, 2020 @ 1:50 pm
Snowflake.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:28 pm
As I was writing my obituary today, I had the same thought too. “Oh damn, what if he got this at the CMA Awards?” But instead of taking to Twitter to speculate, I started reaching out to people who may have more information to either refute or verify that concern. As I said above, the CMA’s statement doesn’t completely satisfy the concern. But it does give us more information. And if they’re lying, this will come out eventually, and it will be 10X worse than it already is for them. At this point, much of the public believes that the CMAs killed Charley Pride. If he got the disease there and then they lie about it in some way, it’s an existential threat for the organization.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:33 pm
Fair point. They should have held off and at least one of them seemed to know that they should have held off.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:47 pm
Don’t believe everything Maren Morris says. Matter of fact, don’t believe anything.
December 13, 2020 @ 9:44 am
I’d love to hear Maren Morris sing a Charley Pride song from memory- I am guessing she couldn’t do it. I bet she couldn’t even sing “Kiss an Angel Good Morning” from memory. She comes across as a woke band-wagon jumper.
December 13, 2020 @ 11:56 am
I’d love for Maren Morris and Charley Pride to switch current locations. The world would be much better with Charley still around and without anyone ever having to see or hear or Maren again.
December 13, 2020 @ 5:41 am
Why were you writing your obituary?
Are you going somewhere
December 13, 2020 @ 12:54 pm
Johnny 70,
I agree.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:08 pm
How many times are you going to talk about Charley Pride, the black man?
Talk about Charley Pride, the man.
And, what a great man Mr. Pride was!
Condolences & Love to Mr. Pride’s family.
What a great singer.
What a great man.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:16 pm
Di,
I agree. Mr. Pride was a great singer PERIOD. Go Hoosiers!
December 12, 2020 @ 9:57 pm
Because he was a Black man. Because he spent his entire life fighting for respect and recognition in a white space. Because he was often the only Black man in the room. Because he got called slurs, and kicked out of spaces, and had to deal with the racism of so many people he was trying to court as an audience. Charley Pride was a Black man, that is who he was. Discussing his race doesn’t diminish him, it makes his achievements far greater, and it also recognizes what he had to go through to get recognition for his singing.
December 12, 2020 @ 10:39 pm
Grow up
December 13, 2020 @ 9:57 am
Sounds like you need a safe space, snowflake.
Seak’s comment is the “grown up” understanding of why Charley Pride was so fucking awesome.
Sorry if that hurts your fee fees, but the adults are talking, here.
December 13, 2020 @ 11:01 am
Nobody was ever awesome because of their race. Nobody. Ever.
And honestly, I don’t care if it makes me a snob, the opinions on C(c)ountry music of city people like you and Seak, who never listened to Charley Pride prior to your discovery of some “Alt-Country” act, mean absolutely nothing.
Yeah, we’re snowflakes for being sick of listening to pampered, city-slicking, white millennials, who who cry over fabricated problems in order to give their lives some semblance of meaning.
December 13, 2020 @ 4:24 pm
A so called Charley fan who won’t accept the struggles he faced because of his race and calls it fabricated problems. No fool like an old racist.
December 13, 2020 @ 11:18 am
Good Lord ..stop being so negative. Can’t people just talk about the good things in remembering successful, talented people’s lives instead of bringing up race and negativity? He had a lot of good things that happened to him throughout the years. Stop always seeing color and feeling like the color of your skin defines you! When people stop seeing color and brining up the past this world will change. Charlie Pride was a good man who made something of himself….he showed what hard work and not giving up will do for your life.♥️
December 13, 2020 @ 11:33 am
No, they can’t. Comfortable, white urbanites, between the ages of 21 and 38, are permanently obsessed with race. It’s virtually all they think about.
They’re infinitely more obsessed with race than than the folks who they seek to make victims, without their approval, like Charley Pride for example, who said the following.
“They used to ask me how it feels to be the `first colored country singer,‘” he told The Dallas Morning News in 1992. “Then it was `first Negro country singer;’ then `first black country singer.′ Now I’m the `first African-American country singer.′ That’s about the only thing that’s changed. This country is so race-conscious, so ate-up with colors and pigments. I call it `skin hangups’ — it’s a disease.”
December 13, 2020 @ 7:19 pm
I have read dozens of interviews that Pride gave before a local appearance at the county fair where the local hack reporter (probably thinking they are being original and clever) would ask what was it like to be a black country singer.
It was almost always the same stock answer on how it never seemed to matter much. You could just tell how disappointed the reporter was.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:16 pm
Nothing I said was negative. If you think my post was negative, you might need to do some introspection about how and why you classify something as negative.
(also person born in and who regularly spends time in upstate NY, and whose family house is still there says hi, newsflash social equality isn’t limited by geography)
December 13, 2020 @ 4:18 pm
Isn’t it pity?
That all kinds of people around the world can pity your stupid whiny testicle like you.
December 13, 2020 @ 4:27 pm
You’re asking too much from a user base that cries over the good old days when you could still use slurs without consequences. People today are just too sensitive don’t you know.
December 13, 2020 @ 6:06 pm
Hey now, seak!
Your post made that precious widdle snowfwake examine her own experiences as anything other than the norm!
So YOUR THA REEL RAYCUST!!!!
Just ask Honky, RD, or Big Tex
December 13, 2020 @ 1:01 pm
Seak,
If you would bother to know your history, you would find out from Charley’s own mouth that he himself downplayed his race. Matter of fact, although he does acknowledge obstacles, he himself stated that his path was “relatively” easy. That is not my quote. That is his. And I just watched that interview again last night.
Studying his relationship with Faron Young is a good read. It is not found in the comic book section however.
No one is disputing his road and the obstacles he faced. But the fact of the matter is Charley DIDN’T. That is what makes him such a class act. One of the best.
Though he had every right, Charley chose to be “unwoke” and let his music do the talking. And talk it did.
December 13, 2020 @ 1:30 pm
I think you are missing a massive amount of context on those statements, and how a person has to act trying to break barriers. I would encourage you to read the comments and accounts and experiences of other Black country music artists, producers, writers etc. Rissi Palmer has some excellent comments about it on her twitter feed for instance. As a Black women in country music, she speaks far more eloquently about it then I ever could.
December 13, 2020 @ 7:37 pm
Interestingly that Pride never once he was safe to do (basically once he was off the charts) went full scorched earth and revealed how awful it was. Instead he remained consistent in his statements.
I checked out that Twitter (aka your appeal to authority) Just another person who wants a genre and its traditions to bend over for her and can’t handle how people might view something differently. Basically to her, it is all about race and people wonder there is racial disharmony. To her, it is say black country singer Charley Pride. You can’t just say country singer Charley Pride. I don’t say male country singer Hank Williams or female country singer Loretta Lynn. I just say country singer. Because that is why they are/were: country singers.
Pride came in respecting country music and its heritage. His cover of Hank Williams tunes proved it.
December 13, 2020 @ 7:15 pm
What is funny is that you are making a bigger deal of his skin color than Charley ever did.
He just went out and sang authentic country music and that was why he became a beloved country legend.
Reducing his legacy to the token black country singer is an insult. Charley Pride was a grade A country singer. That is all that needs to be said. That is how he would have wanted it.
December 13, 2020 @ 11:27 am
I don’t see any problem with bringing up Charley Pride’s race in a retrospective of his career. As an ideal, yes, I agree that it would be great if skin color was so superfluous that it doesn’t even need to be mentioned. I also agree that simply harping on Charley’s skin color as opposed to his greater accomplishments in country music is a disservice to his legacy. Charley himself regularly tried to downplay race in his own career.
But it would also be a disservice to not highlight how Charley broke down barriers for black performers in country music. It’s something that we should all be proud of as country fans, and remember, and celebrate. Because he inched us closer towards that goal of not focusing on race at all.
December 13, 2020 @ 6:11 pm
I dunno, man – acknowledging the context of Pride’s incredible accomplishments???
Next you’ll tell me that Brandi Carlile shouldn’t be burned at the stake for making Honky think impure thoughts about Luke Bryan’s ass!!!
December 13, 2020 @ 6:13 pm
Not following you.
December 13, 2020 @ 6:22 pm
Only explanation for most of this comments section is folks desperately trying to find something to blame for their gay thoughts.
December 13, 2020 @ 7:11 pm
Even more lost now.
December 13, 2020 @ 7:23 pm
Come on Trigger, calling people snowflakes, members of a death cult, diagnosing repressed gay feelings, referring to lynch mobs in another article instead of addressing an observation about this article….his arguments are so…convincing.
December 13, 2020 @ 7:28 pm
But he is a member of the tolerant party so it is not hypocrisy. /s
December 15, 2020 @ 9:24 am
Yeah…because right-leaning independents who have spent years living in the Southeast are *renowned* for their tolerance of fools, liars, and traitors, haha.
Anyway, Trig, my point is that the people who get offended when you mention the discrimination Charley had to overcome also tend to believe lizardmen invented COVID in Davos so that Bill Gates could microchip them…or they’re 23 year olds from the Northeast who have decided to deal with never having touched a woman by becoming fundamentalist Christians who use the term “War of Northern Aggression” unironically, despite never having lived south of Dixie.
They also tend to claim that folks making fun of their idiocy is identical to being discriminated against based on the circumstances of their birth.
Genuinely ridiculous people…and ever-so thin skinned.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:42 pm
You all want to stop talking about race? Here’s how to do it…make it so Charley Pride isn’t the exception. Listen to and support Black artists. There are many Black artists making all different types of country music. The race conversation “goes away” when we do the work so that race stops mattering to opportunity. It doesn’t go away because you want to pretend it doesn’t exist.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:53 pm
Yes, let’s get to a place where we treat people as individuals regardless of race by listening to artists because of their race. Great plan genius ????
December 13, 2020 @ 1:34 pm
Yep, that’s the difference in wanting to make it so race doesn’t matter, and just wanting people to stop talking about race so you can continue going along in your own white comfortable life ignoring it.
December 13, 2020 @ 2:34 pm
Sidestepping a logical fallacy by slipping in white privilege? More genius, and for sure I never saw it coming either. Forget that the original comment of this thread was made by a Native American woman….”context” only matters when you need it to, right seak? ????
It’s funny that the people in the comments who’ve sung the most praise for Charlie (including Di) are the ones I’ve seen called all kinds of names, and the ones spouting the usual woke talking points haven’t even said an RIP. ????
December 13, 2020 @ 6:14 pm
Christ, Jake.
Everyone you’re shouting out for “colorblind” support of Charlie was desperately trying to rally a lynch mob when Rhiannon Giddens titled an album “There is no other.”
That’s not a coincidence.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:17 pm
Thinking back on all those times I saw people accept awards etc, via satellite or whatever. Nobody forced him to go and it’s patronizing in a way, to pretend otherwise. But the hunger for outrage, clicks and sanctimonious finger pointing is never satisfied. Yawn.
Though I hate the CMAs, he at least got some final lifetime recognition before crossing. RIP to this trailblazing badass.
December 12, 2020 @ 6:55 pm
Good point. We can’t overlook that Charley Pride is an adult who can make his own decisions, and may have known the risk, but at 86, wanted to have his career celebrated on national television, and took it anyway. We also can’t discount that his family may have lobbied for this opportunity, pushed him to attend, and the speculation around his death is extremely hurtful to them at a difficult time.
I have no doubt that there are people, including people with platforms and loud voices, that wanted Charley Pride to get COVID-19 at the 2020 CMA Awards, and for Charley Pride to die from it. And despite the alligator tears shed publicly, they are elated at this information, because it affirms their ideology. Regardless of what the facts are, which we still don’t have a 100% clear picture for—though the CMA statement does clear up somewhat—there will be stories published about how the CMAs killed Charley Pride. Because it makes for a good story and delicious click bait.
December 12, 2020 @ 7:14 pm
Yep, and sick as it is, it’s getting boring to watch people who are too dumb to know when they’re patronizing, use people like that to extoll their supposed virtue.
The dude lived to 86 and was a pioneer who brought many people joy. He had a meaningful and impactful life, and had the guts to leave the house and celebrate it. Good for him, on all counts.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:44 am
Complete and utter horseshit, trigger.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:50 am
You can’t make these pompous statements about statements about politicizing this and then turn around making wild speculations about people who secretly wanted him to die, you jerk. I mean you can, of course, but it’s idiotic and vile. BTW, remember how your immediate reaction to the pandemic was to urge everybody to attend shows and not worry about it?
December 13, 2020 @ 9:10 am
I don’t think some people appreciate the moral depravity dependence on the chemical inductions that social media induces in some people. It encourages lies and embellishments, and the craving of catastrophic events and division so someone can increase their popularity and social capital.
“BTW,remember how your immediate reaction to the pandemic was to urge everybody to attend shows and not worry about it?”
No, because that never happened.
December 13, 2020 @ 10:12 am
Your recollection of that is about as good as your ability to reply to the right person.
December 14, 2020 @ 1:37 pm
I just can’t believe what should have been 50 comments of grieving, memories and nothing but positive real life stories about Charlie that a few of you “good” people can turn it into a personal forum to bring race to the forefront. Trigger, I know free speech prevents you from deleting about a quarter of the “lack of common sense” comments. Charlie is a great memory of Country music. A great man in every respect. Speaking of respect, that is what this thread should be about right now period. God bless Charlie Pride for giving us so many decades of great Country music. A great man on and off the stage. Goodbye Charlie you will be sorely missed.
December 14, 2020 @ 1:47 pm
Not to disagree with your assessment because it is unfortunate the turn many of these comments have taken, but the comments are much more civil and focused on remembering Charley on the obituary for him. This article was simply to address the concerns some have of where Pride contracted COVID-19.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/pioneering-country-legend-charley-pride-has-died/
December 13, 2020 @ 9:54 am
This is unquestionably the dumbest thing I’ve read on this site. And there are quite a few absolutely ridiculous things that have been said here. Nobody is glad Charley Pride is dead because it “affirms their ideology.” People are disgusted because honoring an 86 year old man at an awards ceremony in the midst of a pandemic is reckless. Regardless of where he contracted the virus, the CMA setup was poorly conducted and unnecessary. They should be criticized either way.
I appreciate the hard work you do covering music, but the COVID coverage has been absolutely pathetic. The COVID analysis here has been utterly worthless and, quite often, completely wrong and filled with terrible foresight. And you cap it off by saying that you’re sure there are people glad Charley Pride is dead.
If you’re going to make such claims – with such certainty – point fingers, Trigger. Who do you think is happy Charley Pride died? You must have some personal thoughts on the matter while making such bullshit allegations. But you won’t do something like that because it’s completely baseless and ridiculous.
December 13, 2020 @ 11:57 am
ZB,
A couple things:
1) I agree that the CMA’s loose COVID-19 protocols were problematic. I said that at the time, and I have reaffirmed that multiple times. If or when I have the information that Pride contracted COVID at the CMAs, I will be the first to string the CMAs up by their shorts. However, at this time, we don’t have that information. In fact, there are NO confirmed cases of COVID stemming from the 2020 CMA Awards, even though it continues to be characterized as a ‘superspreader” event, which it wasn’t. There were protocols in place, and characterizing it as such is irresponsible, and dilutes the effectiveness of the term “superspreader” and fuels the sentiments by some that they’re being lied to about COVID-19.
2) Along those same lines, the idea that my COVID coverage has been “absolutely pathetic” has been to misunderstand the importance of telling the truth when it comes to this pandemic. The media has regularly lied about country music and COVID-19. There was the Chase Rice incident, where ‘The Washington Post,’ ‘Daily Mail,’ Kelsea Ballerini, and numerous others lied about the nature of the event.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/chase-rice-concert-criticism-misses-the-bigger-picture/
There was the issue with Chase Rice and Morgan Wallen where they sarcastically said they were going to book big shows (which they weren’t, and couldn’t) to prove the hypocrisy of the media, and the media ate it up:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/country-stars-wrong-about-big-shows-right-about-hypocrisy/
Then there were the outright lies by Marissa R. Moss, Margo Price, Jason Isbell to the L.A. Times saying that the CMA awards in 2020 were restricting the speech of performers and nominees, which they weren’t.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/twitter-mob-sows-false-claim-cmas-looked-to-stifle-speech/
All of these instances of spreading verifiably false information directly erodes the trust the public has in media institutions, and actively and directly results in individuals flaunting COVID protocols. They have been lied to so many times, they no longer can trust anything these outlets and media personalities say.
Since March, I have not been to a single live event, socially distanced or otherwise. I have not promoted any live events, aside from a couple that were newsworthy beyond the events themselves, and had strict COVID-19 protocols in place.
As for who is happy that Charley Pride contracted COVID-19, the line forms behind Marissa R. Moss and others who are using this moment as an opportunity to push false information on social media to promote their media brands and ideologies without any regard to Charley Pride’s family, who advocated for Charley Pride to receive the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, and encouraged him to attend the awards in person, and are now grieving his passing. They should be able to mourn his death without having to answer speculation. Instead of remembering Charley Pride in the wake of his death, we’re arguing over it, which is the direct result of the speculation of multiple high profile individuals on Twitter, including Maren Morris, and Natalie Wiener. It’s completely understandable for the public to speculate. It up to the media to answer that speculation, not feed into it because it fits into a greater agenda.
Finally, just understand that I respect your opinions, and I’m proud to offer a forum for ANYONE to come here and disagree with me. You can’t do so with Marissa R. Moss. As per regular, she lobbed multiple, irresponsible grenades on Twitter, and now has “protected” her account so people can’t respond. Soon I’m sure, she will emerge and claim victimhood in the extremely-predicable cycle of these irresponsible actors who regularly spread falsehoods.
December 12, 2020 @ 7:18 pm
The Facebook statement the family made said that he was hospitalized in late November. Annals of Internal Medicine published a study back in May, and they concluded that the median incubation period from infection to onset of symptoms is approximately 5 days, and 97.5% of people infected with the ‘rona will exhibit symptoms by 12 days.
Without some exact dates, it’s hard to pin this on the CMAs themselves. Did anyone else who attended the CMAs test positive after? You would think that if it was a spread others who were there would have gotten it too.
December 12, 2020 @ 9:26 pm
Yet some are hospitalized 10-15 days after initial symptoms when the suddenly take a turn for the worse. I know several who that happened to and then they spent 5 and 9 weeks in the hospital.
December 12, 2020 @ 8:44 pm
Sympathies to the family. Regardless primping for an award with even such limited in attendance is reckless at best in the midst of the pandemic that has taken so many. Using zoom or other platforms where the singers perform from home is far safer until a vaccine. Remarkable man gone too soon.
December 15, 2020 @ 12:46 pm
An adult man makes an informed decision about how to live his live. He managed to live 86 years making his own decisions so I’m sure he was capable of making this one and assessing the risk. And I’m sorry but saying an 86 year old person is gone too soon is a bit of a stretch. As a fan of his music it would always be too soon. I will be a very thrilled person if I make it to the age of 86, average life expectancy of a black male in the US is 75. God Bless you Mr. Pride.
December 12, 2020 @ 9:10 pm
It isn’t worthy of you to say some people wanted him to contract it at the venue and wanted him to die from it. Many people have been fighting disinformation and denial of objective facts precisely because they don’t want ANYONE to die unnecessarily. You might not like them or the way they argue their case but to suggest they wish death on anyone is disgusting.
December 12, 2020 @ 9:24 pm
A little too close to the bone?
December 12, 2020 @ 9:50 pm
“Many people have been fighting disinformation and denial of objective facts…
Yes, this is what I had to do when multiple blue checkmarked journalists and performers LIED to the public via Twitter and told them the CMA Awards in 2020 were telling artists they could not speak out publicly all based on a stupid social media meme. If you want the back story, here it is:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/twitter-mob-sows-false-claim-cmas-looked-to-stifle-speech/
These same bad faith actors are the ones now accusing the CMAs of killing Charley Pride, while also admitting in subsequent tweets (not in the initial ones so they can go viral, and give them a dopamine rush) that they’re not reporting on the story, and don’t know the particulars. I am, and I do. I’ve been on the phone and exchanging emails with folks all day on this story. These incited, extreme ideologues have a long history of lying and misreporting facts on social media to prop up their names and personal media brands with no consequences like if they put this misinformation in print and could be held liable.
The CMAs did have COVID-19 protocols in place. There is not a single confirmed case of anyone contracting COVID-19 at the 2020 CMA Awards—Charley Pride or anyone else. I agree with the people who believe the CMA’s could have done a bit more and presented a better example of a pandemic-era awards presentation. But make no mistake about it, Charley Pride getting COVID-19 is spectacular and succulent validation for these people, because they’re not here to report on country music from love or curiosity. They’re political operatives looking to impose their own ideology through the genre under the ideals of poptimism.
December 12, 2020 @ 10:06 pm
The CMA covid protocols stunk. They would not have been allowed in other parts of the United States. This isn’t revisionist history. Many people called out the CMA covid protocols the night of the event, and the day after. Tennessee now has far to many covid cases to allow for contact tracing to be effective. We have no idea (and never will) how many people contracted covid at the CMA’s, if any. Nor will we ever know where Charley Pride contracted covid.
However, given the current positivity rate and case growth in Tenn, hopefully they will re-evaluate their current covid measures, to minimize the number of deaths.
December 12, 2020 @ 11:42 pm
All of Trigger’s statements in this comment could be true and may well be true but do not refute the comment that “[i]t isn’t worthy of you to say some people wanted [Pride] to contract it at the venue and wanted him to die from it.”
December 13, 2020 @ 12:03 am
Seeing the zeal with which multiple individuals leapt to blaming the CMAs for the death of Charley Pride—including individuals who knowingly mislead the public about the CMAs restricting speech at the 2020 Awards—shows how the depths of their ideology has clouded their judgement. If Charley Pride contracted COVID-19 from the CMA Awards due to their lax protocols, I would be the first and loudest detractor screaming “Shame!” I don’t have that information though. Nobody does. But some are either pretending they do, or are otherwise playing fast and loose with facts to gain social capital on social media. And yes, they are absolutely joyous about this news, because it allows them to signal their virtue.
December 13, 2020 @ 2:18 am
I really disagree with you. It’s conceivable that some zealots felt that if Pride had to die, they hoped it was from Covid so they’d be able to blame political adversaries for his death, but that’s very different from saying they hoped he would die in the first place. NOBODY wanted him to die, even if there are some who sought to use his death for their own political purposes.
December 13, 2020 @ 1:47 pm
Look, maybe I was being a bit hyperbolic. Were there people sitting around praying for Charley Pride to die? Probably not. Were there some that were elated when they hear the news because it affirmed their predictions and self-righteous ideology to the point where they overlooked Charley Pride’s humanity? Absolutely.
December 12, 2020 @ 10:08 pm
Pics of Maren Morris all over the CMA’s with no mask. Friggin attention whore to the fullest.
RIP Charley.
December 13, 2020 @ 7:48 pm
She is a hypocrite. Par for course.
December 13, 2020 @ 9:22 pm
I honestly can’t stand her.
December 12, 2020 @ 10:19 pm
My dad was a big Charley Pride fan. Such a nice, talented guy with a wonderful voice. He will be sorely missed.
December 12, 2020 @ 10:25 pm
they don’t even mention or talk about John prine dying of covid and then Charlie pride attends and dies of covid a month later
reminded me of a super spreader event in the covid garden at the White House looking at those pictures.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:14 am
John Prine died of coronavirus 8 months before Charley Pride, back in April, in the early days of the pandemic. John Prine’s death got a lot of mention and talk– a lot more than Joe Diffie’s, by the way, which happened around the same time.
Had to have been a helluva “super spreader” that nailed both John Prine and Charley Pride.
December 13, 2020 @ 10:02 am
He’s talking about how the CMA’s didn’t bother to include a tribute for Prine, before putting together an incredibly reckless event that may have killed Pride.
December 16, 2020 @ 12:01 pm
@cls: I just saw your comment. You’re right. I like to think my reading comprehension is very good, but I’ll acknowledge when I missed something.
December 17, 2020 @ 6:55 am
That’s a rare sentiment, here on the interwebs! I respect the hell out of it.
I’ve never been wrong myself, of course 😉
December 12, 2020 @ 11:08 pm
It’s easy to blame the CMAs when the actual fact is, he could have contracted the disease anywhere. We will never know for sure. I think we should focus on his amazing life and career, rather than uncertain speculation about COVID19.
December 13, 2020 @ 2:11 am
”It’s easy to blame the CMAs when the actual fact is, he could have contracted the disease anywhere.”
absolutely . RIP Mr Pride and thank you for the joy .
watching snl tonight . cast and musicians wearing no masks ….no distancing on stage or in skits.
last spring the same cast was performing from home . what gives ??? even testing negative shouldn’t allow people to display a lack of precaution and safety in the form of blatant disregard for the virus and the people they may be going home to after this fraternizing . what am I missing here ?
December 13, 2020 @ 10:04 am
SNL is making people self-isolate before coming on, and testing pretty much every day.
It’s also a much, much smaller group of people than the CMA’s.
December 13, 2020 @ 11:37 am
I think it sends the wrong message. unless cast crew musicians and guests are living in a bubble testing negative Tuesday morning does not mean you won’t test positive Tuesday night….not to mention all of the other business going on at 30 Rock nonstop. This is seems a huge risk and highly iresponsib e when so many far smaller and far less frequented retail environments be are forced to shut down .
December 13, 2020 @ 6:19 pm
…you’re describing why Wallen wasn’t allowed to play, champ – SNL DOES have meaningful Covid protocols.
Folks like Di and Tex and Honky and RD like to lie and try convince people otherwise.
Don’t listen to lying morons convinced that lizardmen are why their wives spend so much “alone time” with the neighbor every evening.
December 13, 2020 @ 7:05 am
Mr. Pride eluded Covid for the first 8 months of the virus then soon after attending the CMA awards show, he contracted it and passed away from complications.
Not to take anything away from Mr. Pride’s accomplishments, which are many, but why were the CMA’s celebrating him in 2020 in particular?
Does it have something to do with the protests that were kickstarted with the death of George Floyd? The death and protests that never would have happened if there had been no pandemic? I’m not saying that the protests are unwarranted, just that Covid directly led to Mr. Floyd losing his job, his situation when confronted by police and the video of his death that sparked the protests.
All this just has me thinking how Mr. Pride would have been better off not being celebrated by an organization as shallow and vapid as the CMA. He was better off being alive and appreciated by the fans who loved his music and admired his accomplishments than becoming a martyr for mainstream country.
December 13, 2020 @ 7:40 am
From what little I know, it don’t add up that Pride contracted the virus during his appearance at the CMAs. The award show took place November 11th. That’s 4 weeks ago. What we know is the virus is aggressive especially with the elderly. I don’t believe the virus was dormant in Pride’s system for that long or he battled it for 4 weeks.
As for CMAs, I hate them. But, the award Pride received was the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award which gives it strong merit. Willie was an advocate and friend to Pride. During the early years, Willie would threaten to not take the stage if a venue didn’t allow Pride to open for him because of the color of his skin. I’d like to think Willie was consulted about the recipient of the award with his name on it and that’s all I need to know to end any speculation Pride was ran out there as a PC stunt.
December 13, 2020 @ 7:23 pm
Right because Willie himself doesn’t do PC stunts.
The dude panders so hard which is why he is beloved by the media.
December 13, 2020 @ 7:25 am
Charlie Pride was a great singer and that had nothing to do with his colour. He faces many challenges and did so with real dignity. I was also fortunate to have seen him in concert to and to have met him many years ago. He was a really nice man. I am really saddened at his death but what a wonderful full life he had. RIP.
December 13, 2020 @ 8:16 am
I was in one of his concerts in Wichita Falls tx. And let me tell you he put on one great concert everyone loved him one of the best I have ever been .RIP Charlie Pride
December 13, 2020 @ 9:49 am
Pardon me for breaking up the pity party, but WHAT THE HELL DOES IT MATTER WHERE OR HOW CHARLEY PRIDE CONTRACTED THE CORONAVIRUS???
You live your life, and you take your chances!
Hank Sr. taught us decades ago that we’re never gonna get out of this world alive!
December 13, 2020 @ 10:08 am
Just a full on death cult.
At least you’re admitting it, spanky.
December 13, 2020 @ 11:48 am
Coolboy:
If you are frightened of the coronavirus, then STAY THE HELL AT HOME.
WOW!
Bet you NEVER thought of that, did you?
December 13, 2020 @ 6:25 pm
Spanky, you dim, dim child…you know full well that I’ve been spending my time at home!
That’s why your mom isn’t in the house to regulate your internet usage.
December 13, 2020 @ 8:24 pm
Coolboy:
If you want to call a cardboard box under the overpass a “home,” then that tells us basically all we need to know about you.
Good luck, and I hope you have lots of tape to keep the lid closed.
That would be the lid on the box,, of course; as the lid on your head appears to be shut tighter than the hatch on the Trieste.
Have a nice day . . . and watch out for that Covid.
It’s EVERYWHERE, so they say..
Have a nice day.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:10 pm
If posting a comment that life means taking chances places one in a “death
cult,” what would you say about an 86 year old man with numerous health issues, presumably of his own free will, attending an awards show? Or anyone who attended for that matter? Are they high ranking members of said cult?
December 13, 2020 @ 7:26 pm
Wanting to live life and keep businesses going is now considered part of a death cult.
I have seen the data on the virus. I (and millions of others) are not courting death by keeping this nation going.
This isn’t the Bubonic Plague.
December 13, 2020 @ 11:51 am
It has only been four and a half weeks since the CMAs. If he has been hospitalized for weeks, it does make you wonder if he could have contacted it at the award show. With Jimmie Allen being a part of the tribute, I find it strange that he has yet to comment on CP’s passing. Does anyone know if he has tested negative or positive?
December 15, 2020 @ 9:31 am
Jimmie has posted an 18 minute youtube video memorial to Charley Pride. Maybe he was just taking his time to think through what he wanted to say.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:16 pm
Regardless of whether or not Pride contracted COVID at the CMAs, given his age and medical history, it probably would’ve been smarter — and safer for the CMAs from a PR perspective — to have him accept the honor via Zoom. I wonder if that option was offered to him.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:31 pm
Charley Pride did not need to be in attendance to either receive or be recognized for the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. Case in point, last year’s recipient was Kris Kristofferson. Where was Kris? He was playing a local show in Iowa.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/kris-kristofferson-side-steps-cma-lifetime-presentation-for-iowa-show/
Charley Pride was there because he wanted to be. He was a grown ass man. He knew the risks, and decided to travel to the CMA Awards to accept the trophy in person. Assigning sole responsibility to his death to the CMA Awards—even if he did contract it there, which we don’t know at this point—is to remove all agency from Charley. The guy was 86-years-old. He got to take his final bow as the centerpiece of the 2020 CMA Awards.
December 13, 2020 @ 1:49 pm
I’d forgotten about Kristofferson’s no-show last year, Trigger. And of course, it was ultimately Pride’s decision to attend this year, and we don’t know if he actually caught COVID on his trip to the CMAs anyway. Plus, it likely would’ve felt more meaningful for him to have accepted the trophy in person rather than via Zoom. But I still think that to protect the health of someone who was in a high-risk category, and to avoid the possibility of the story that this has become, if I were the CMAs, I would’ve strongly encouraged him to appear via Zoom or video link. And who knows — behind the scenes, maybe they did.
December 13, 2020 @ 2:22 pm
The entirety of the 2020 CMA Awards presentation was pretty terrible across the board. I don’t think it was a “superspreader” event. They did take precautions. But in this day and age, you have to be smarter than they were, understand that you’re setting an example on national television, and they failed to do that. They also failed at putting together a compelling awards show. Using multiple venues like the ACMs did, and taking precautions like having Charley on Zoom or perhaps something pre-recorded where he wouldn’t have to travel would have been a better move. And now the CMAs are paying for that lack of foresight.
December 13, 2020 @ 12:58 pm
To the members of Charley Pride’s family, and close inner circle of friends, who might be seeing these comments.
Please accept sincere apologies from what i am sure, are many of us, for comments that might be adding to your grief.
Rest assured that your husband, father, brother, uncle, cousin, dear friend, was greatly loved by many.
God’s Peace surround you, and be with you.
December 13, 2020 @ 1:15 pm
Marek Morris is an idiot. That is all.
December 13, 2020 @ 4:02 pm
When I first saw the Morris Tweet, two thoughts jumped into my head.
1. If Pride had been infected at the CMAs, odds are good we would be hearing about a whole slew of musicians and artists who attended that were also infected. It’s highly unlikely that Pride would be the ONLY person who contracted the disease at that event.
And
2. Why would she speculate like that? Especially considering that SHE was also a WILLING participant. If she was uncomfortable with the Covid protocols, why did she participate?
In any event, as others have said, he was old, not stupid. He knew the risks and he chose to go and perform anyway. So…even of that’s where he got it (which is doubtful) it was his decision that put him at risk.
As for the rest of the political back and forth in these comments… This virus doesn’t care what your personal beliefs are.
December 16, 2020 @ 7:18 pm
Trigger,
I emailed the Hall of Fame again a couple of weeks ago on Wednesday, December 2 about the voting for 2021 inductions being delayed due to COVID and in their reply back to me on the morning of Thursday, December 3, they said:
They have not released any new information regarding the Medallion Ceremony for both this year and next year. They are waiting to honor these inductees the proper way when it is safe to do so.
Then, I emailed them again not asking about the Medallion Ceremony but about the voting for 2021 Hall of Fame inductions being delayed or would it go on at the normal time like usual and in their reply back to me, they said:
Possibly, but we don’t have a definite answer at this time, unfortunately.
What do you think?.
December 16, 2020 @ 8:25 pm
Hoping by late April or May, everything can return to (mostly) normal, and hopefully we can have both a Medallion Ceremony, and an announcement of new inductees in the rotunda like normal.
January 4, 2021 @ 10:17 am
Trigger,
I emailed the Hall of Fame again last night regarding when will an announcement be made regarding the Medallion Ceremonies for both 2020 and 2021 and in their reply back to me this morning, they said:
There has been no decisions made regarding Medallion Ceremony for 2020 and 2021 inductees. They will plan to honor these inductees when it is safe to do so.
What do you think?.