Charley Pride, a country music Black superstar, dies at 86
“I’m so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away. 1 hits between 1969 and 1984, won the Country Music Association’s Top Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year awards in 1972 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. But until the early 1990s, when Cleve Francis came along, Pride was the only Black country singer signed to a major label. “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. “The Texas Rangers join the country music world in mourning the loss of Charley Pride.
Hank Williams Jr., Marty Stuart to join Country Hall of Fame
FILE - Hank Williams, Jr. performs in concert at The BB&T Pavilion in Camden, N.J. on Aug. 19, 2017. Williams, along with Dean Dillon and Marty Stuart, will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. (Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. Hank Williams Jr., Marty Stuart and songwriter Dean Dillon are the newest inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Announced by the Country Music Association on Wednesday, Williams will join his father, country legend Hank Williams Sr., in the Hall of Fame's rotunda. He also wrote timeless classics like Tennessee Whiskey," which has been covered by David Allan Coe, George Jones and Chris Stapleton.
On this day: October 28
2007: Country music singer-songwriter and guitarist Porter Wagoner, who charted 81 singles from 1954 to 1983 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, dies of lung cancer at age 80 in Nashville, Tennessee. Wagoner, whose hits included "A Satisfied Mind," "Misery Loves Company," "Green Green Grass of Home" and "The Carroll County Accident," is also known for introducing then-obscure singer Dolly Parton on his long-running television show in 1962 and for pairing up with her on duets through the 1960s and '70s. Hide Caption