Country music living legend, Dolly Parton, has led the tributes to the late first black country music superstar, Charley Pride, who died on Saturday.

Accoridng to his publicist, Jeremy Westby, Pride died in Dallas, Texas, after suffering complications related to the deadly Covid-19.

Reacting to Pride’s death on Social media, Parton exressed heartnreak at the passing of his dearest amd oldest friend.

“I’m so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away. It’s even worse to know that he passed away from Covid-19. What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you. Rest In Peace. My love and thoughts go out to his family and all of his fans,” Parton wrote.

I’m so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away. It’s even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19. What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you. (1/2)

— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) December 12, 2020

Former United States President, George Bush revealed that they were both Texas rangers fans.

“Laura and I love his music and the spirit behind it. Plus, he knew baseball: Charley was a big Texas Rangers fan and a player himself. Laura and I send our condolences to Charley and Rozene’s sons and daughter, their extended family, and his countless fans. May God bless Charley Pride,” Bush said.

Country music stars, Reba McEntire and Jason Aldean also sent their condolences via social media.

“He will truly be missed but will always be remembered for his great music, wonderful personality and his big heart. My thoughts are with his wife Rozene and their family. RIP, Charley,” Reba tweeted.

“I can’t imagine what this man went through as a Black Country Music artist trying to break into this business, but what a career he had,” Jason Aldean tweeted.

Pride took the country music world by storm with his trailblazing hits with classics such as “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone” (1970), “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” (1971) and “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)” (1969). [Billboard]

Born in Sledge, Mississippi in 1934, to sharecropper parents, Pride worked on cotton fields before going pro to play baseball in the Negro leagues and serve in the US army before moving to Nashville in 1963 to pursue a career in music.

Just a few years later, he became a country superstar, winning three Grammys over a long career and, in 2000, becoming the first black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

He scored 52 Top 10 country hits, including 29 Number Ones, and was the first African-American performer to appear on the Grand Ole Opry stage since Deford Bailey made his debut in the 1920s. [RollingStone]

He won the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year award in 1971, its top male vocalist prize in 1971 and 1972, and was awarded the lifetime achievement prize in 2020.

His final performance came weeks before his death, when he sang Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’ during the CMA awards show at Nashville’s Music City Center on 11 November. It was a duet with Jimmie Allen, a rising black star in country music, and was watched by a TV audience of millions. – [Guardian]