In 1967, they worried the crowd would walk out when he stepped onto that stage. This September, the Grand Ole Opry is handing him the whole night. The boy from Sledge, Mississippi, who once listened to the Opry through a crackling WSM radio while picking cotton, is finally getting his due.
Charley Pride didn’t just break barriersโhe shattered them with a voice that carried strength, warmth, and dignity. His debut at the Opry in January 1967 was a gamble the establishment wasn’t sure would pay off. But he didn’t become a member until 1993, turning down an earlier invitation because his touring schedule was too packed. He died on December 12, 2020, at 86, but his legacy roars on.
The only reason I get to stand on that stage is Charley’s courage. โ Darius Rucker
On September 22, the Opry will host Opry 100 Honors Charley Pride, a tribute night featuring Darius Rucker, Pam Tillis, Neal McCoy, and Dion Pride, his son, singing the songs his father grew up dreaming about from a Mississippi cotton field. It’s a homecoming for the man whose musicโ’Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’,’ ‘Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone,’ ‘All I Have to Offer You Is Me’โbecame the soundtrack of families across America.
Thatโs what makes this night so powerful. The stage that once seemed impossibly far is now his alone. It only took a hundred years of the Opry to get here. Which Charley Pride song still plays in your household?