Funeral arrangements for Charley Pride have been announced.
According to a press release from Charley’s publicist, which you can read below, family and close friends will hold a private wake in Dallas this week, with future plans for a public celebration of life.
“Charley Pride’s family and close friends will hold a private wake and memorial in Dallas this week, with future plans for a public celebration of life memorial ceremony to be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to The Pride Scholarship at Jesuit College Preparatory School, St. Phillips School and Community center, any local food bank, or the charity of your choice.”
Charley, 86, died on Dec. 12, 2020, in Dallas, Texas, due to complications from Covid-19. A three-time Grammy winner, Charley is considered country music’s first African-American superstar. He signed to RCA Victor in 1967 and earned a string of No. 1 hits, including “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me),” “(I’m So) Afraid of Losing You Again,” “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’,” “Amazing Love” and many more. Charley won the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year award in 1971 and Top Male Vocalist in 1971 and 1972. Charley became the Grand Ole Opry’s first African-American member in 1993. Charley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 for outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording. Charley was presented with the 2020 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in Nashville at the 54th CMA Awards on Nov. 11.
