Country star Charley Pride dies of Covid at 86

American country singer Charley Pride, whose number 1 hits included All I have to offer you (is me) and kiss a Good morning angel, has passed away due to complications from Covid-19. He was 86 years old.

Pride, who died in Dallas on Saturday, was not the first African-American artist to make significant contributions to country music, but he was a pioneer who emerged during a time of division and rancor.

Between 1967 and 1987, Pride delivered 52 Top 10 country hits, won Grammy Awards, and became the best-selling country artist on RCA Records, according to its website.

“We are not color blind yet, but we have taken some steps along the way and I like to think that I have contributed something to that process,” Pride wrote in her memoirs.

The Mississippi singer picked cotton, served in the United States Army, and played black league baseball before moving to Nashville, becoming the country’s first black star.

He joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000, Rolling Stone said the magazine.

“I am so heartbroken that one of my oldest and dearest friends, Charley Pride, passed away,” country music star Dolly Parton said on Twitter.

“It’s even worse to know that he passed away from Covid-19. What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you.”

Pride’s last performance came on November 11 of this year when she sang her hit. Kiss an angel good morning during the Country Music Association Awards Show at Nashville’s Music City Center.

Pride was born in Sledge, Mississippi, on March 18, 1934 to a sharecropper. After enlisting in the military, he worked in a Missouri foundry plant.

Pride then played for the Memphis Red Sox and Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro League before heading to Nashville in 1963, where he did recording demonstrations.

Four years later, Pride’s recording of Just between you and me broke into the Top Ten in the country.

He went on to win the Country Music Association Artist of the Year award in 1971, his award for best male vocalist in 1971 and 1972, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

“Charley Pride will always be a legend in country music. We will truly miss him, but he will always be remembered for his great music, his wonderful personality and his great heart,” country music star Reba McEntire said on Twitter.