Obviously, Charley Pride was a popular musician, but because his achievements primarily occurred a few decades ago and in country music, a genre long considered not-quite-mainstream and thus not given all the attention it deserved, the singer's accomplishments have been overlooked. Between 1967 and 1988, a period that spanned several country music movements and evolutions, Pride took a whopping 52 songs to the top 10 of Billboard's country singles chart. That would be impressive in its own right, but if Pride got to the top 10, he was more likely than not to head all the way to the top — of his 52 top 10 singles, 29 of them hit No. 1. (Only five acts have amassed more No. 1s, icons like Alabama, Conway Twitty, and George Strait.)
Pride wasn't just a singles act either — he released 12 albums that topped Billboard's country album chart. At one time, according to The New York Times, RCA Records, Pride's label for 30 years, cited the singer as its second-best-selling act of all time... behind only Elvis Presley. The industry gave credit where credit was due, too, as Pride was named the Country Music Association's Male Vocalist of the Year twice, its Entertainer of the Year once, and he also won three Grammys off 13 nominations, and a lifetime achievement award from both bodies.
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