Darius Rucker was one of the performers during Sunday’s Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music special, and he paid tribute to the late Charley Pride with a performance of Pride’s hit “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’.” “One of the main reasons I get to stand and sing on this stage is because of his courage,” Rucker said during the show. “Here’s our tribute to the great Charley Pride.”
Ahead of the special, the “Beers and Sunshine” singer wrote on Instagram that he was “Looking forward to celebrating #Opry95 tonight!” Pride became the first Black singer to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1993, and Rucker became the second in 2012. Rucker has been vocal about the influence Pride had on him as a Black country artist, and in 2016, Rucker performed “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” with Pride during Rucker’s annual St. Jude benefit concert.
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“Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” was released in October 1971 as the first single from Pride’s album Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs. The song went to No. 1 on the country charts, spent four months on the pop charts and made the Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Pride died in December 2020 due to COVID-19 complications, one month after he received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the CMA Awards in Nashville.
After his death, Rucker wrote an essay for Billboard reflecting on Pride’s influence on him and their relationship. “The first time I saw Charley Pride was on Hee Haw when I was in the first or second grade,” Rucke recalled. “I remember thinking, ‘This is awesome. This guy looks like me and there’s no one else on that show that looks like me.’” The two eventually met and “talked for hours,” quickly becoming friends.
“I couldn’t have done what I do, I don’t think, if there hadn’t been Charley before me. I think one of the reasons I got a chance is because a lot of people in radio did look and go, ‘Wow, it’s been 25 years,’ and so I had a good song and they gave it a chance,” Rucker added, explaining that he is now trying to do for other Black country artists what Pride did for him. “Charley opened the door. I try to push it in a bit more and help these kids out.”
Other performers during Sunday’s Opry special included Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Lady A, Little Big Town, Old Crow Medicine Show, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Marty Stuart, Carrie Underwood and Trisha Yearwood.
