Pride: The Charley Pride Story Story (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jim Henderson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Before Pride came on the scene in the 1960s, "there were no mainstream black performers in country music and never had been." The story he tells in this excellent autobiography is, thus, more than the rise to fame and fortune of a poor sharecroppper's son from rural Mississippi. Starting in small-town bars, Pride broke the color line in the heart of redneck country where it was unheard of for a black man to enter the door. His first concert-size appearance, opening for Buck Owens and Merle Haggard in Detroit's Olympia Arena in 1966, was cautiously arranged after he had already established himself on radio with such hits as "Snakes Crawl at Night" and "Just Between You and Me." His way with a song outweighed the surprise of his color and since then he has sold 25 million records. Ironically, music was not the first love of this singer who was a good enough ballplayer to pitch and play oufield in the Negro Leagues in their dying years. Pride's earliest hero was Jackie Robinson and it seems fair to say he has been as much of a pioneer as that celebrated athlete. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Growing up as one of 11 children of a strict sharecropper, Pride learned early that life was a struggle. His first escape was baseball, where he shone for a number of Negro league and semipro teams. After abortive tryouts with professional teams in the early 1960s, he worked for a smelting company in Montana. An encounter with country legend Red Foley was enough to convince Pride to give Nashville a try. While the country music establishment was never quite sure of what to make of this black man singing what they considered white man's music, his 36 number-one country hits proved him worthy of acceptance. Unlike his hero, Jackie Robinson, Pride was not in the vanguard as an African American country artist, and he remains an anomaly nearly 30 years after his first record. Recommended for popular music collections.
- Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company; 1st edition (February 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688126383
• ISBN-13: 978-0688126384
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #696,825 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IT has the makings of a good country song., January 5, 1999

By	Steven Fantina (Phillipsburg, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Charley Pride may no longer be a fixture on so-called country radio stations, but he has more talent than a slew of those twenty-something rock and roll wannabees who command the airwaves these days. This book proves that Charley is an equally talented author, and what a story he has to tell! From his impoverished childhood, through his military experience through his promising baseball career to country music stardom, the rags to riches tale is told in vivid detail. Readers will put it down feeling like they've made a new friend. It also contains in depth portraits of his wife of 40+ years, family, and associates who include some of Nashville's biggest names back when country music was really country.

One question that will definitely be on your mind when you finish is, "Did that soldier from Alabama ever contact him?"