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Dallas (AP) - Country pioneer Charley Pride is dead. He died on Saturday in Dallas at the age of 86 of complications after suffering from Covid-19, as his family and producer announced on the old star's website.
The Mississippi-born Pride had dominated the music scene between the 1960s and 80s with a multitude of hits.
"Charley, we will always love you," said the country icon Dolly Parton, sadness on Twitter.
The death of one of her dearest and oldest friends breaks her heart.
Billy Ray Cyrus also mourned his companion: “A gentleman, a legend and a real pioneer.
He tore down walls that should divide. "
Reba McEntire described him as a "legend of country music".
Pride will be sorely missed, "but he will always be remembered with his great music, wonderful personality and big heart".
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The US artist was the first African American to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
He was honored as singer and entertainer of the year by the Country Music Association in 1971.
Pride was born on March 18, 1934 in Sledge, Mississippi.
In a large family, he helped out early on in the cotton fields that his father had leased.
As a teenager he wavered between a career as a musician or as a baseball player.
Since his athletic talent was not enough for a professional career, he first had to earn his living as a worker.
He also made music - and unlike most African-Americans, who mostly loved blues or gospel, he was drawn to country.
And Pride got his first chance to audition in Nashville in 1963, the first single followed in 1966. When he made his breakthrough in the same year with “Just Between You And Me”, he received the “Country Accolade” in 1967 with an appearance in the Grand Ole Opry - the show that is considered a stepping stone into the higher spheres of the country scene.
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By the late 80s, Pride released dozens of albums, many of its singles dominating the top of the charts for weeks.
His best-known hits include “Kiss An Angel Good Morning” and “Please Help Me I'm Falling”, as well as “I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me” and “Night Games”.
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