Photo by Chris Hollo
Charley Pride will celebrate his 25th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member with appearances on the Opry on May 4 and 5. Pride, who made his Opry debut performance in 1967, is scheduled to perform extended Opry sets in celebration of his milestone anniversary on both nights.
As part of the celebration, Opry flagship station 650 AM WSM plans to salute the award-winning artist with a “Country Pride Weekend”, spinning Pride’s 50-plus Top 10 singles, playing signature Pride archived programs, and taking listener requests for the Country Music Hall of Famer’s all-time favorites.
Upon his Opry induction 25 years ago, Pride recalled his initial dream of baseball stardom. “It’s as if I had made it in baseball and they came up to me and took me to Cooperstown and said, ‘This is where your plaque is going to be – beside Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and Hank Aaron.”
Pride’s fellow Opry member Carrie Underwood is set to mark 10 years with the Opry on two shows the following weekend, Fri., May 11. Among other artists scheduled for the Opry and Opry Country Classics in May are Trace Adkins, Bobby Bare, Terri Clark, Luke Combs, Easton Corbin, Jordan Davis, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, Crystal Gayle, Craig Morgan, Lorrie Morgan, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Marty Stuart, and Tanya Tucker.
About the Author
Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at lhollabaugh@musicrow.com.View Author Profile
