Country Charley Pride, as he was affectionately called when starting out, would go on to earn 29 No. 1 hits on the country chart, 12 gold albums, be named the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year in 1971, become only the second African-American artist invited to join the Grand Ole Opry, and be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
Country music has a rich history of adding inspirational standards to the catalog of American popular music. As far back as the 1930s, the Carter Family’s classic “Gospel Ship” informed us that, “I’m going to take a trip in that old gospel ship / I’m a-going far beyond the sky.” Around the same time, country founding father Jimmie Rodgers teamed with Sara Carter for “That Wonderful City” where the streets are lined with gold.
