No American country singer has toured Ireland as much as Charley Pride. The man from Sledge, Mississippi, has held a special place in the hearts of country followers in Ireland for close on five decades.

Now 84, Charley has just released his first studio album in six years. Music in my Heart features 13 songs produced by Billy Yates. The album remains totally true to Charley’s traditional country roots.

In many ways, it is a tremendous endorsement of a man who has always been so comfortable with his love of the genre and the music which made him a true international superstar.

One of 11 children, eight boys and three girls, his family were sharecroppers in Mississippi. He knew all about picking cotton as a youngster and celebrated that early part of his life in the song In a Mississippi Cotton Pickin’ Delta Town.

The beginnings

A legendary guitarist and Nashville record producer changed his life. He secured a contract for Charley with RCA. Pride enjoyed his first chart hit with Between You and Me. It brought him huge recognition and laid the foundation for a golden era which saw him have his first chart-topper with All I Have to Offer You Is Me. Pride had arrived in all his glory.

The hits rolled out one after another. In 1971 he recorded his biggest song of all, Kiss An Angel Good Morning, which sold in excess of a million copies. Only Elvis Presley sold more records with RCA than Charley Pride.

The late 1960s and early 1970s saw his fame spread across the Atlantic. The famous American Forces Network (AFN) radio station in west Germany carried some weekly country shows, and these could be picked up late at night on the mediumwave band around the UK and Ireland.

Many people first heard the voices of emerging stars like Charley Pride, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens on AFN, a part of radio history that rests gentle on the minds of those who recall those halcyon days. Back then the song was king and there was no need for a production company to explain it.

Charley married Rozene Cohran in 1956 and the couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary two years ago. They raised a family of three, sons Kraig and Dion, and daughter Angela. The family has resided in Dallas, Texas, for many years.

Love for Ireland

Pride’s love affair with Ireland is legendary. The late Jim Aiken played a central role in this special relationship, when he jetted out to America at the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and convinced Charley to come and do some shows in Belfast at a time when no international artist would come near the place.

Pride came and charmed the capacity audiences, bringing all sides together through a shared love of country music. Belfast never forgot and Pride has always remained an iconic figure in country circles in Ulster.

Some years back, I met Charley in Belfast and he spoke fondly of his affinity with Ireland. The words poured forth from the heart of a man who had been down all the roads and around the course on many times.

“I always know I am among the best of friends when I do shows in Ireland. You can feel the warmth of the welcome from the moment you arrive here. Irish people have a special place in my heart,” he told me.

Music in my Heart has been released on the Irish label, Rosette Records. Songs on the album have come from the pens of Bill Anderson, Tommy Collins, Johnny Mathis, Ben Peters, Billy Yates and others. The album was produced by American singer-songwriter Billy Yates, who has toured Ireland on a few occasions as well.

“My goal was to record the best traditional country album possible,” says Charley. “Finding the right songs took a while, so this album took longer to finish than I’m used to. I hope everyone will enjoy listening to the album as much as I enjoyed making it.”

Among the tracks are New Patches, Make Me One More Memory, Natural Feeling For You, You’re Still In These Crazy Arms of Mine, That Way It Was in ’51, I Just Can’t Stop Missing You and The Same Eyes That Always Drove Me Crazy.

Rosette Records also released the Charley Pride Live in Concert DVD some months ago as part of a boxset with a CD of the same concert, along with a second CD entitled Classics with Pride.

  • A selection of Charley Pride’s material with Rosette Records, including the new album, as well as material from various other artists, can be purchased direct from Rosette Records by checking out IrishCountryMusic.Shop online.