“There’s always been a handful of people with global appeal that goes beyond the face value of the culture of Country music. Mr. Pride is absolutely one of those folks.”
– MARTY STUART
“Charley deserves every accolade he can get. And, we’ll make up some new ones if we need to. He’ll deserve them too!”
– WILLIE NELSON
“He’s one of America’s great country stars. He is Americana personified.”
– WHOOPI GOLDBERG
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Charley Pride: I’m Just Me will make its BBC network premiere Friday, July 5 at 9:30 p.m. BST on BBC4 [click here for details]. The program will also be available to view on BBC iplayer for 30 days after its broadcast on BBC Four [click here to watch].
Charley Pride: I’m Just Me traces the improbable journey of Charley Pride, from his humble beginnings as a sharecropper’s son on a cotton farm in segregated Sledge, Mississippi to his career as a Negro League baseball player and his meteoric rise as a trailblazing country music superstar. Narrated by country music icon Tanya Tucker, the new documentary reveals how Pride’s love for music led him from the Delta to a larger, grander world. In the 1940s, radio transcended racial barriers, making it possible for Pride to grow up listening to and emulating Grand Ole Opry stars like Ernest Tubb and Roy Acuff. The singer arrived in Nashville in 1963 while the city roiled with sit-ins and racial violence. But with boldness, perseverance and undeniable musical talent, he managed to parlay a series of fortuitous encounters with music industry insiders into a legacy of hit singles, a Recording Academy “Lifetime Achievement Award” and a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The film includes original revealing interviews with country music royalty, including Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker and Marty Stuart. It also includes several on-camera conversations between Pride and special guests, including Rozene Pride (his wife of 61 years), Willie Nelson, and other fellow musicians. The film also features many songs from his repertoire of classic country hits, along with more modern cuts like “Standing In My Way,” from his latest album Music In My Heart, released in 2017. On January 30, 2019 the film made its world premiere at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. The premiere featured an appearance by Charley Pride himself, along with special guest artists featured in the film, including the film’s narrator Tanya Tucker, Jimmie Allen, Janie Fricke, and Sylvia Hutton. Members of the media, and other family and friends of Pride also attended. After the film a Q&A was hosted by the film’s director Barbara Hall, and journalist Robert K. Oermann, Country Music Hall of Fame’s Peter Cooper, and Charley Pride.
Notable Talent In The Film:
• Charley Pride
• Garth Brooks
• Dolly Parton
• Willie Nelson
• Tanya Tucker (narrator)
• Brad Paisley
• Darius Rucker
• Marty Stuart
• Sylvia Hutton
• Charlie Worsham
• Jimmie Allen
• Whoopi Goldberg
Buzzworthy Moments:
• Charley Pride and fellow country music superstar Willie Nelson reminisce on camera about the early days of their careers.
• Charley Pride explains how he maneuvered his way through the white ranks of country music in order to gain acceptance in the industry.
• Charley Pride and his wife Rozene speak candidly about Pride’s struggles with mental illness over the years. While on tour in Germany in 1968, the singer suffered a manic attack and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Noteworthy Facts:
• Eighteen-year-old Charley Pride made his debut in the Negro American League
as a pitcher-outfielder for the Memphis Red Sox in 1952.
• Charley Pride was drafted into the army in 1956 and served 14 months in
Arkansas and Colorado. While in the military, he played on the Fort Carson
baseball team and sang in the barracks.
• After RCA signed him to a record deal, his third single, “Just Between You
and Me,” reached the top 10 on the country music charts in 1967. The singer
received his first GRAMMY® nomination, for Best Country & Western Vocal
Performance, Male, for the song.
• Charley Pride first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry radio show in January,
1967. When he was inducted as an Opry member in 1993, he became the first
African-American Opry member since DeFord Bailey, who had been a regular member
from 1927 until 1941. Pride celebrated the 25th anniversary of his induction
into the Grand Ole Opry in 2018.
• Charley Pride won Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year at
the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards in 1971.
• Charley Pride committed to an extensive tour of the U.K. in 1976, including
several dates in Northern Ireland during the peak of the Troubles conflict.
Because of the intense political violence, international music acts were
avoiding Belfast. Pride’s November 1976 appearance at Belfast’s Ritz Cinema
brought the community together and he became a hero to both sides of the
conflict for helping to break the informal touring ban of Northern Ireland
after several other international music acts soon followed. This resulted in
“Crystal Chandeliers” being considered a ‘unity song’ in Ireland and the
UK when it was subsequently released as single.
• In 2000, Charley Pride was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
• The Recording Academy honored Charley Pride with a Lifetime Achievement Award
during the GRAMMY® Salute to Music Legends awards ceremony and tribute concert
event in 2017.
Running
Time: 74 minutes
Production
Credits:
Charley Pride:
I’m Just Me is a production of Corridor Group Productions Inc. The
film is directed and executive produced by Barbara Hall.
Be sure to follow Charley Pride on Facebook
and at CharleyPride.com.
About
Charley Pride:
Charley Pride is celebrating more than 50 years as a recording artist. He has
enjoyed one of the most successful careers in the history of country music and
is credited with helping to break color barriers by becoming the first black
superstar within the genre. A true living legend, he has sold tens of millions
of records worldwide with his large repertoire of hits. A three-time GRAMMY®
award and Recording Academy “Lifetime Achievement Award” winner, Pride has
garnered no less than 36 chart-topping country hits, including “Kiss An Angel
Good Morning,” a massive #1 crossover hit that sold over a million singles and
helped Pride land the Country Music Association’s “Entertainer of the Year”
award in 1971 and the “Top Male Vocalist” awards of 1971 and 1972. A proud
member of the Grand Ole Opry, Pride continues to perform concerts worldwide and
has toured the United States, Canada, Ireland, The United Kingdom, Australia
and New Zealand over the last several years. His latest album, Music In My Heart,
was released in 2017 on Music City Records. For more information, visit CharleyPride.com.
# # #
Suggested Tweet:
.@BBCFOUR #CharleyPride documentary set to premiere on Friday, July 5 at 9:30pm BST on BBC4 & online at bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live/bbcfour
To download high res images from the Jan 30 world premiere, click here.
Charley Pride publicity contacts:
Jeremy Westby, jpw@2911.us,
833-537-2911 x800
Jason Ashcraft, jason@2911.us,
833-537-2911 x801
Charley
Pride booking:
Kevin Bailey, kevin@charleypride.com,
214-350-8477