In 1962, with the help of Tiny Stokes, a local disc jockey, Charley was introduced to Country singers Red Sovine and Red Foley and invited to perform 'Heartaches By The Numbers' and 'Lovesick Blues' during one of their shows. This brief initial encounter with Red Sovine would turn out to be crucial in laying the groundwork for Charley's future music career.

After a disastrous 1963 tryout with the New York Mets in Clearwater, Florida it became clear that a major league baseball career was not in the cards. Charley chose to return to Montana via Tennessee because Red Sovine had told him that if he ever became serious about a singing career and decided to come to Nashville, he should stop by Cedarwood Publishing, the company that booked Sovine's shows. 

From the bus station in Nashville, Charley walked straight over to Cedarwood's office and by sheer luck ended up meeting Jack Johnson, who had been actively searching for a promising black Country singer. Johnson made a simply produced recording of Charley performing a couple of songs and then drove him straight back to the bus station with the promise of a management contract. Johnson quickly made good on that promise and it was the beginning of a working relationship that would start off slow, but prove to be very fruitful over the next decade.

Johnson ran into significantly more resistance than he had anticipated as he shopped around the crude demo recording that he had made of Charley to the record labels in Nashville. It wasn't until 1965 that forward progress was made. Charley came to Nashville and Johnson introduced him to producer, Jack Clement. Clement gave Charley seven songs to learn (including "The Wabash Cannonball", "Night Train To Memphis" and "Just Between You And Me") and within a week they cut two of these songs 'The Snakes Crawl At Night' and 'Atlantic Coastal Line' during an afternoon studio session with top-notch session players.

Even with the professionally produced sides, Johnson and Clement continued to have a difficult time as they shopped Charley around to the Nashville labels. But finally in 1966, Chet Atkins decided to trust his ears and signed Charley to RCA Records. Atkins took Charley under his wing, nurtured his talent and oversaw a shrewd promotional campaign that successfully navigated the racial challenges of mid-1960s America. Although Charley's first couple of singles failed to jump-start his career, 'Just Between You and Me' caught fire in 1967, breaking into the Top-10 Country chart and garnering Charley his first Grammy nomination. 

What happened next is Country Music history. Charley Pride quickly became Country Music's first African-American superstar. Between 1967 and 1987, he amassed no fewer than 52 Top-10 Country hits and went on to sell tens of millions of records worldwide. In 1971, Charley won two Grammy Awards related to his Gospel album DID YOU THINK TO PRAY 'Best Sacred Performance, Musical (Non-Classical)' for the album, as well as 'Best Gospel Performance Other Than Soul' for the single 'Let Me Live.' Later that year, his #1 crossover hit 'Kiss An Angel Good Mornin' sold over a million singles and helped him to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year award and the 'Top Male Vocalist' awards of 1971 and 1972. It also brought him a 'Best Male Country Vocal Performance' Grammy Award in 1972. Some of Charley's unforgettable hits from his 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s output include 'All I Have To Offer You Is Me,' 'Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone,' 'Amazing Love,' 'Mississippi Cotton Pickin' Delta Town,' 'Burgers And Fries,' 'Roll On Mississippi' and 'Mountain Of Love.' After parting ways with RCA Records in 1986, Charley spent the remainder of the decade releasing albums on the 16th Avenue Records label. 

Charley wrote an autobiography in 1994, with the assistance of Jim Henderson, called Pride: The Charley Pride Story. This book covers the events of his childhood, baseball career and music career in significantly more depth.

Additional Factoids:

On May 16, 1979 Charley and fellow music artist Willie Nelson visited the Oval Office at the White House to present President Jimmy Carter with a special award for his support of Country music.

In 1993, Pride was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, 26 years after he had first played there as a guest. 

Charley was honored with an invitation to sing at the White House on December 9, 1993 where he performed for President Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton and many others during the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree celebration at President's Park.

In 1994, he opened the Charley Pride Theatre in Branson Missouri where he performed for 4 years, doing nearly 200 shows yearly. Also in 1994, Pride was honored by the Academy Of Country Music with its prestigious Pioneer Award.

From 1994 until 1997, Pride released several albums on the Honest Entertainment record label. 

In 2000, Pride was honored with an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He wept when his name was announced by Hall of Famer, Brenda Lee. 

In 2001, Pride began releasing new recordings music on the Music City Records label, starting with his critically acclaimed album A TRIBUTE TO JIM REEVES (2001). That was followed by COMFORT OF HER WINGS (2003) and PRIDE & JOY: A GOSPEL MUSIC COLLECTION (2006).

Charley appeared in the 2009 documentary film, THE BLACK LIST: VOL 2, which aired on HBO. The film is a component of The Black List Project, which interviews, films and photographs prominent African Americans of various professions, disciplines and backgrounds.

On July 21, 2009 Charley performed for President Barack Obama and guests in the historic East Room of the White House. His performance was part of a concert and educational workshop event (the White House Music Series) that also featured Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. Hosted by Michelle Obama, the purpose of the event was to support the arts and demonstrate the continuing importance of arts education in America.

As part of an investment group spearheaded by Hall Of Game pitcher, Nolan Ryan, Charley became one of the owners of the Texas Rangers major league baseball team in 2010. The investment group purchased the team in a federal bankruptcy auction just weeks before the Rangers appeared in the World Series for the first time in team history. Charley has a long history with the Texas Rangers he was invited to work out with the team during spring training in the 1970s and has continued to do so every year since. Each February and March, Charley blocks off several weeks from his schedule so that he can work out with the team at their Arizona spring training facility. In addition, Pride was drafted in 2008 by the Rangers during Major League Baseball's ceremonial Special Negro League Player Draft. 

Charley's most recent studio album Choices was released on March 8, 2011. It features 13 new recordings written by such songwriters as Ted Harris ('Crystal Chandeliers') and Ben Peters ('Kiss An Angel Good Morning' and many other Pride hits) as well as tracks penned by such fellow Country music stars as Eddy Raven and Richie McDonald (Lonestar). Those familiar with Charley's amazing repertoire of hits will find this release essential listening while others are sure to discover the reasons why this living legend has sold tens of millions of records worldwide.

Charley calls Dallas, Texas home. He relocated his family from Helena to Great Falls, Montana in 1967 and then to Dallas in 1969. 

Charley continues to play 30 to 40 concert dates a year throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. He also performs at the Grand Ole Opry several times each year and hosts an annual fan club breakfast in Nashville each June. In addition to performing, recording new music and spending spring training with the Texas Rangers, he enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family.

 

* All Artist scheduling is with special arrangements with Management