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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Country music lost a trailblazing legend with the |
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death of singer Charley Pride of Dallas on December 12, 2020, at the |
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age of 86; and |
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WHEREAS, The son of Tessie Stewart Pride and Mack Pride Sr., |
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Charley Frank Pride was born on a sharecropping farm in Sledge, |
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Mississippi, on March 18, 1934; a promising athlete, he played |
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baseball in the Negro American League before completing his |
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military service; he began singing at social events in Helena, |
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Montana, while working at a smelting plant, and country artists Red |
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Sovine and Red Foley urged him to pursue a career in Nashville; in |
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1964, he scored the first of 52 Top 10 country hits with "Just |
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Between You and Me"; he hit No. 1 nearly 30 times over the next two |
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decades, and his classic "Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'" introduced |
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his rich baritone voice to pop music fans; and |
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WHEREAS, Named both Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year |
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by the Country Music Association Awards in 1971, he went on to break |
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a color barrier by cohosting the CMAs on television four years |
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later; the winner of three Grammy Awards, Mr. Pride was the first |
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African American to join the Grand Ole Opry, and in 2000, he became |
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the first African American inducted into the Country Music Hall of |
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Fame; he was a role model and mentor to many stars, among them Brad |
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Paisley, Darius Rucker, and Jimmie Allen, with whom he sang at the |
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CMA Awards in November 2020; at this final appearance, he accepted |
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the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Pride also enjoyed success in business as a |
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majority owner of a bank, and he invested in real estate, founded a |
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booking and management company, and partnered in a music publishing |
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firm; devoted to his family, he shared a fulfilling marriage of 63 |
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years with his wife, Ebby Rozene Cohran Pride; he took great pride |
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in his children, Carlton, Charles, and Angela, along with his five |
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grandchildren, Carlton, Malachi, Syler, Ebby, and Arrentino, and |
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two great-grandchildren, Skyler and Carlton; and |
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WHEREAS, Gracious and kind, as well as immensely gifted, |
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Charley Pride earned a special place in the hearts of innumerable |
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people, and his music will remain a source of joy and inspiration in |
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the years to come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Charley Pride and |
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extend sincere condolences to all who mourn his passing; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Charley |
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Pride. |