Country music legend Charley Pride passed away on December 12th, 2020 in Dallas, Texas
from coronavirus complications, according to an announcement from his official website.
The singer was 86 years old. Per the statement,
"Pride emerged from Southern cotton fields to become country music's first Black superstar
and the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame."
Instead of flowers, Pride's family asked for donations to The Pride Scholarship at Jesuit
College Preparatory School, St. Philip's School and Community Center, The Food Bank, or another
charity.
As devastating as his passing is to his family, friends, and fans, Pride's career ended on
a great note. He gave his final performance with Jimmie Allen on November 11th, 2020 at
the Country Music Awards. That same night, Pride received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
While Pride received accolades for his performance, speech, and career achievements, the award
show itself caused controversy, because it was held indoors with a live audience in the
midst of a coronavirus pandemic. There were no fans present, but there were plenty of
country singers in the room, many of them sans face masks.
Sources told TMZ that the "Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'" singer had recently been admitted
to the intensive care unit of a local hospital. The coronavirus patient was isolated from
his family members and friends as his health declined. Then, the country music icon was
moved into hospice care, where he passed away with his wife Rozene Pride by his side.
Maren Morris had a big night at the 2020 CMAs, scooping up three awards, according to People.
Despite the accolades that she received, Morris questioned how the night factored into Charley
Pride's passing. In a now-deleted tweet, Morris wrote,
"I don't want to jump to conclusions because no family statement has been made, but if
this was a result of the CMAs being indoors, we should all be outraged.”
When someone tweeted,
"Coming from an artist that also attended the indoor event..."
She responded,
"Hence 'WE' should be outraged."
...which she also deleted. She concluded with yet-another-deleted post, writing,
"F--k this f--king year."
Country singer Mickey Guyton responded,
"Gurl I thought the same damn thing."
In another tweet, Guyton shared,
"It's been reported that he did not get it at the cmas. This is however a huge wake up
call that we must stay vigilant and continue to protect the elderly and people at risk
that much more."
The Country Music Association and Pride's representative issued a joint statement to
E!, sharing that Pride tested negative before he traveled to Nashville for the show, when
he arrived in Nashville, on the day of the show, and after he returned home to Texas
following the CMAs. The statement concluded,
"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."
When the news broke that Charley Pride passed away as a result of coronavirus complications,
there was an outpouring of love and sadness from the country music community. Dolly Parton
tweeted,
"I'm so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed
away. It's even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19. What a horrible, horrible
virus. Charley, we will always love you."
Maren Morris tweeted (and didn't delete),
"Your voice. Your humility. The fact that the first time I ever visited the Opry, you
were backstage holding court and I was trying not to eavesdrop."
Jason Aldean posted a black-and-white photo of Pride and wrote,
"Just learning of the passing of another one of our legends in Country Music. I can't imagine
what this man went through as a Black Country Music artist trying to break into this business,
but what a career he had. RIP Mr. Charley Pride."
Darius Rucker tweeted,
"Charley Pride was an icon a legend and any other word u wanna use for his greatness.
He destroyed Barriers and did things that no one had ever done. But today I'm thinking
of my friend. Heaven just got one of the finest people I know. I miss and love u CP!"
Undoubtedly, Pride's death is a major loss for country music fans everywhere, and sadly,
yet another reminder for everyone to be cautious in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.