Charley Pride "Country" (RCA Victor, 1966) (LP)
(Produced by Chet Atkins, Jack Clement & Bob Ferguson)
Charley Pride "The Pride Of Country Music" (RCA Victor, 1967) (LP)
(Produced by Chet Atkins, Jack Clement, Bob Ferguson & Felton Jarvis)
Charley Pride "The Country Way" (RCA Victor, 1967) (LP)
(Produced by Chet Atkins, Jack Clement & Felton Jarvis)
Charley Pride "Make Mine Country" (RCA Victor, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Chet Atkins, Jack Clement & Felton Jarvis)
Charley Pride "Songs Of Pride... Charley That Is" (RCA Victor, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Chet Atkins, Jack Clement & Felton Jarvis)
Charley Pride "In Person" (RCA Victor, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement, Felton Jarvis & Al Pachucki)
A concert show, recorded at the popular Panther Hall, in Fort Worth Texas...
Charley Pride "The Sensational Charley Pride" (RCA Victor, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement & Felton Jarvis)
Charley Pride "Just Plain Charley" (RCA Victor, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement & Felton Jarvis)
Charley Pride "Charley Pride's 10th Album" (RCA Victor, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement)
His tenth album? Really? Oh, yeah, I guess so, if you include his Best Of album, from 1969...
Charley Pride "Christmas In My Hometown" (RCA Victor, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement)
Pride's first holiday album, reissued on CD as Happy Christmas Day... (By the way, if you like Christmas music, check out my Hillbilly Holiday section, too...!)
Charley Pride "From Me To You" (RCA Victor, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement, Leslie Ladd & Tom Pick)
Charley Pride "Did You Think To Pray?" (RCA Victor, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement)
Earning two Grammys, this album was a winner for Pride and is still considered a gem by many fans... The churchy approach taken on many tracks -- with Pride crooning over an organ and vocal chorus -- may seem a bit antiquated, though, and even Southern Gospel fans may take a while to warm to the album. The set list is packed with 19th Century hymns, as well as a few modern country-gospel tunes that fit comfortably alongside the oldies. "Let Me Live," written by Ben Peters, won a Grammy for Best Gospel Performance, and Ann J. Morton's "Time Out For Jesus" is an album highlight, taking familiar religious themes of devotion and sacrifice and giving them a clever new twist. (Note: the 2012 CD reissue includes a nice Chet Atkins-produced bonus track of "Wings Of A Dove," which was an old Ferlin Husky hit.) For country gospel fans, this one's definitely worth a spin.
Charley Pride "I'm Just Me" (RCA Victor, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement, Leslie Ladd & Tom Pick)
Charley Pride "Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs" (RCA Victor, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement)
Charley Pride "A Sunshiny Day With Charley Pride" (RCA Victor, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement)
Charley Pride "Songs Of Love By Charley Pride" (RCA Victor, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement)
Charley Pride "Sweet Country" (RCA Victor, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement)
The Pridesmen "Charley Pride Presents The Pridesmen" (RCA Victor, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Glenn Keener)
A "band album" from Charley Pride's touring group, or at least its early 'Seventies edition... Sometimes these band records have interesting performances by folks who are normally in the background, and although their individual contributions on various tracks aren't credited, the liner notes do give fairly extensive bios of all six Pridesmen. Top billing goes to band leader and steel player Gene O'Neal, who spent most of the 1960s in Judy Lynn's backup band before joining the Charlie Pride entourage around 1968. The rest of the group included bassist Preston Buchanan, Rudy Gray (drums), Glenn Keener (lead guitar), Randy Reinhardt (piano), and Tommy Williams on fiddle, and additional vocals from the Nashville Edition. The songs seem to been largely drawn from Pride's considerable catalog of country hits, along with some chestnuts like "Orange Blossom Special," though no originals from the boys in the band.
Charley Pride "Amazing Love" (RCA Victor, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement & Felton Jarvis)
Charley Pride "Country Feelin' " (RCA Victor, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clement)
Charley Pride "Pride Of America" (RCA Victor, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley)
Charley Pride/Various Artists "In Concert With Host Charley Pride" (RCA Victor, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Doug Nelson & Norm Schwartz)
A double album with live performances by Charley Pride and a slew of other artists in the mid-1970s RCA lineup, including stalwarts such as Dolly Parton and Jerry Reed, as well as newcomers Ronnie Milsap and Gary Stewart...
Charley Pride "Charley" (RCA Victor, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Vandevort)
The Pridesmen "The Pridesmen" (RCA Victor, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Glenn Keener, Al Pachucki, Tom Pick & Bill Vandevort)
Another "band album" from an edition of the Pridesmen led by steel player Gene O'Neal, who helmed the group for about nine years from 1968-77, after which he joined Dottie West's road band. O'Neal was a Nashville veteran who also recorded a few singles under his own name, though this might be the closest thing he did to a "solo" album during his career. It's a fairly typical mix of country classics and instrumental hits like "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," "Last Date" and "Raunchy," which give the pickers a chance to strut their stuff. There are a few unusual entries amid the covers of Hank Williams and "Ghost Riders In The Sky": the bandmembers aren't individually credited, but O'Neal was the star of the show and the album kicks off with his signature song, "Spitoon," while he is also credited as arranger on a few others tracks. Also included is a cover of "Sawed Off Shotgun," a regional hit from the early 'Sixties that was written by one of Muskogee's hometown heroes, steel player Rocky Caple, and was possibly a favorite of O'Neal's from his early days working in Oklahoma.
Charley Pride "The Happiness Of Having You" (RCA, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Al Pachucki, Bill Harris Tom Pick & Bill Vandevort)
Charley Pride "Sunday Morning With Charley Pride" (RCA, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley & Jack Clement)
Charley Pride "She's Just An Old Love Turned Memory" (RCA, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley)
Charley Pride "Someone Loves You Honey" (RCA, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley & Charley Pride)
Charley Pride "Burgers And Fries/When I Stop Leaving (I'll Be Gone)" (RCA, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley & Charley Pride)
Charley Pride "You're My Jamaica" (RCA, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley & Charley Pride)
Charley Pride "There's A Little Bit Of Hank In Me" (RCA, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley & Charley Pride)
A Hank Williams tribute album, with a mix of big Hank hits and a few more relatively obscure, deep-cut cover songs, such as "I Could Never Be Ashamed Of You" and "Low Down Blues." The title track, "There's A Little Bit Of Hank In Me," was a contemporary original credited to one of Pride's preferred early 'Eighties songwriters, John Schweers, who was best known for penning Ronnie Milsap's 1975 hit, "Daydreams About Night Things."
Charley Pride "Roll On, Mississippi" (RCA, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley & Charley Pride)
Charley Pride "Charley Sings Everybody's Choice" (RCA, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Norro Wilson)
Charley Pride "Charley Pride Live" (RCA, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Norro Wilson)
Charley Pride "Country Classics" (RCA, 1983)
(Produced by Norro Wilson)
This is indeed, largely, a set of country oldies, mostly of 1950s or '60s vintage, admirably including no less than four songs recorded by the fabulous Webb Pierce: "In The Jailhouse Now," "More And More," "Wondering" and "Why Baby Why" (which was originally a George Jones hit...) There are other chestnuts from the like of Eddy Arnold ("That's How Much I Love You"); Red Foley ("Tennessee Saturday Night"); Ray Price ("Burning Bridges") and Ernest Tubb ("Filipino Baby") punctuated by a couple of new John Schweers songs, "Radio Heroes" and "Up To My Heart In Memories." The Nashville studio crew seems to have been a mix of usual-suspect studio pickers and Pride's own band...
Charley Pride "Night Games" (RCA, 1983)
(Produced by Norro Wilson)
With a career spanning back to the mid-1960s, Charley Pride showed remarkable staying power even as Nashville went through one of its periodic shifts into a new pop sound -- in the early 'Eighties, towards sort of an accommodation with the synth-pop of the new wave era. This album scored two major hits, including the chart-topping title track, which was co-written by Blake Mevis and album producer Norro Wilson, and the follow-up, "Ev'ry Heart Should Have One," which peaked at #2.
Charley Pride "The Power Of Love" (RCA, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Norro Wilson)
Charley Pride "Back To The Country" (RCA, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley, Blake Mevis & Charley Pride)
Despite the back-to-basics proclamations of the album's title, this was actually a fairly forward-thinking album, or at least can be seen as part of the transition into a more modern era: Blake Mevis emerges as Pride's main producer, while the album notably includes four songs penned by Nashville newcomer, Byron Gallimore, an aspiring songwriter who had just moved to Music City, and went on to become one of the dominant studio producers of the 1990s and 2000s. Pride's career might have been treading water again, but he was at least providing a training ground for some of the new kids.
Charley Pride "The Best There Is" (RCA, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley, Blake Mevis, Norro Wilson & Charley Pride)
Charley Pride "After All This Time" (16th Avenue Records, 1987)
(Produced by Ray Baker)
Charley Pride "I'm Gonna Love Her On The Radio" (16th Avenue Records, 1988)
(Produced by Ray Baker & Jerry Bradley)
Charley Pride "Moody Woman" (16th Avenue Records, 1989)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley & Charley Pride)
Charley Pride "My Six Latest And Six Greatest" (Honest Records, 1994)
Charley Pride "Classics With Pride" (Honest Records, 1996)
Charley Pride "Branson City Limits" (Unison Records, 1998)
Charley Pride "A Tribute To Jim Reeves" (Music City Records, 2001)
Charley Pride "Comfort Of Her Wings" (Music City Records, 2003)
Charley Pride "All Time Greatest Hits, v.1" (Music City Records, 2005)
Charley Pride "All Time Greatest Hits, v.2" (Music City Records, 2005)
Charley Pride "Pride And Joy: A Gospel Music Collection" (Music City Records, 2006)
Charley Pride "Just For The Love Of It" (Music City Records, 2009)
Charley Pride "Choices" (Music City Records, 2011)
Charley Pride "The Best Of Charley Pride, v.1" (RCA Victor, 1969) (LP)
Charley Pride "The Best Of Charley Pride, v.2" (RCA Victor, 1972) (LP)
Charley Pride "Greatest Hits, Volume Two" (RCA, 1985)
This set capitalized on a few of Pride's more recent hits, notably the 1983 chart-topper, "Night Games" and its companion, "Ev'ry Heart Should Have One," as well as the slightly less successful "Power Of Love," which managed to crack into the Top Ten. The album was also one of those hybrid "best of" collections that also included new material, in this case, a tune called "Down On The Farm," which hit #25 on the charts, and "Let A Little Love Come In," which squeaked its way into the Country Top 40.
Charley Pride "The Essential Charley Pride" (RCA, 1997)
Charley Pride "RCA Country Legends" (BMG-RCA, 2000)
You can't judge a book: Ol' Charley Pride made like a bazillion albums back in the 1960s and '70s... and he had like a bazillion hits. He's pretty easy to overlook, in kind of the same way you might discount Conway Twitty or Warner Mack... He just doesn't look like he'd be cool, right? But it turns out that, amid the landslide of watered-down, wimpy countrypolitan that he did record (you weren't totally wrong...) there are plenty of great country songs. Like, real country songs, the kind you'd actually want to hear more than once or twice. To begin with, he had a hit with "Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone," which is a flat-out awesome tune, as well as "Kiss an Angel Good Morning" (ditto) and he sang the original version of "Busted," later a huge hit for John Conlee. Pride had a nice voice, and though his approach may have been a little too controlled, he still fills out these songs with a robust presence, and makes the lyrics live... This is a swell 16-track best-of that covers his major hits, and doesn't falter or stumble until the very end where a couple of icky-sounding disco-ish songs intrude on the fun. Other than that, it ain't bad. If BMG hadn't followed this up with the vastly superior 2-CD Anthology collection, this would be the Pride set to shoot for. Still, is, if you're on a budget.
Charley Pride "Anthology" (BMG-RCA, 2003)
As mentioned above, this 2-CD set really kicks ass. I mean, look, Charley Pride is considered a Nashville hack by a lot of hard-country purists, so when somebody puts together a collection with so many songs that simply don't suck, you have to take a step back and reconsider your assumptions. Pride had a nice, deep voice, with sort of a smoothed-out Merle Haggard feel to it, and more importantly he (or perhaps his managers...) had a knack for picking really good material. One song after another rolls past, of a high enough calibre that you not only like it when you hear it, you wind up being a little amazed that honkytonk pop this strong actually did so well back at the height of the Nashville Sound/countrypolitan years. Okay, the guy isn't the second coming of Hank Williams or anything, but he was good, and he had a lot of big hits, and it was clearly on account of his talent, and not any kind of tokenism. This generously programmed retrospective really gives a solid impression of his career, with a depth that most modern best-ofs seldom attain. It's a class act, and well worth checking out.
Charley Pride "The Very Best Of Charley Pride" (Varese Sarabande, 2003)
(Produced by Ray Baker, Jerry Bradley & Charley Pride)
This is probably the definitive look back at Charley Pride's work on the short-lived 16th Avenue record label, drawing on three album recorded in the late '80s, After All Ths Time (1987), 1988's I'm Gonna Love Her On The Radio and Moody Woman, from 1989. Pride had surprising success on the charts with this material, pegging into the Top 40 several times, and even scoring a Top Five hit with Jerry Jarrard's "Shouldn't It Be Easier Than This." It's also interesting to hear how the semi-retired 'Seventies superstar came back to life over the course of these records... In '87, he sounded old and rigidified, but he actually loosened up a lot and came back to life during the next couple of years, presumably as he got more comfortable being back in the studio. Vocally, he sounds like a geezerly blend of Tom T. Hall and Randy Travis, and those comparisons alone should be enough to pique the interests of certain segments of the country fanbase... It's not the greatest country music ever made, but it's certainly worth checking out, particularly if you were already a Charley Pride fan.
Charley Pride "The Essential Charley Pride" (RCA Legacy, 2006)
Charley Pride "Pride And Joy: A Gospel Music Collection" (Music City Records, 2006)
Charley Pride "The Ultimate Hits Collection" (Music City Records, 2008)
Charley Pride "30 Years Of Pride: Thirty Great Songs" (BMG-International, 1998)
Charley Pride (1938-2020) was not only a country trailblazer (as one of the first and most popular African-American country stars...) he was also a captivating performer, a top-selling artist, and a very shrewd businessman. Pride also had surprisingly strong country roots, considering that he came to fame at the height of the "countrypolitan" era, when syrupy arrangements and flowery music dominated the country scene. Although he recorded his share of slick stuff, Pride often echoed Hank, Hank and Lefty, particularly in his sometimes-gruff vocals. Born in rural Mississippi, Charley Pride definitely paid his dues before breaking into the music world. A sharecropper's son, he first applied himself to a career in professional baseball, playing in both Negro League and minor league teams in the 1950s and early '60s, a notably insecure career path which in 1960 led him to a bush league team in Montana, where he lived for most of the decade, gradually moving into full-time factory work. He also played music on the side, working local bars while trying to build a reputation at the national level. His hard work finally paid off in 1966 when he got signed to RCA Victor and steadily crept up the charts where he racked up a remarkable run of #1 hits spanning from 1960 to 1983. Mr. Pride died at the end of 2020 from complications of the Covid-19 virus. Here's a quick look at his work...
Neal McCoy "Pride: A Tribute To Charley Pride" (Slate Creek Records, 2013)
