You’ve Got To

I have always (well, almost) just “loved” this man and his singing! Which man? The one who had these songs as some of his greatest hits!

1. “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’”

2. “Wings of a Dove”

3. “She’s Just An Old Love Turned Memory”

4. “A Shoulder To Cry On”

5. “Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger?”

6. “Is Anybody Goin’ To San Antone?”

7. “Mountain of Love”

8. “All I Have To Offer You (Is Me)”

9. “The Snakes Crawl At Night”—debut RCA single, 1965, chilling tale about a man who gets revenge upon his cheating wife and her secret lover

And CHARLEY PRIDE is still as great as ever today. That is why it almost brought tears to my eyes when I found out that this Dallas resident had been honored with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the Country Music Awards recently. What I would have given to have been there to see and hear him in person again as he (and Jimmie Allen) performed Charlie’s all-time classic, “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” live and strong!

My students quite often would ask during my lectures about literature and life, “Hey, Mr. Themer, don’t you have an illustrative story or anecdote about this?” They thought they were getting me totally off track of the lesson, but actually, they were “playing right into my hands!”

Oh, you want to know if I have a story? YES! Maybe one or three!

Charley Pride (born in Mississippi in 1934 and married to wife, Rozene, since 1956) quite often went to spring training with the Rangers and quite often visited “Ranger Field” when there was a home game. I was surprised to learn that he had been a professional baseball player of note in the Negro Leagues in the 1950s and was a feared pitcher with “intimidating fast balls, sneaky curves and knuckle-balls,” and maybe a few trick pitches! Despite his fame, he was quite nice and visited with fans around him when I saw him at the “BallPark.”

Our extended Family went to Branson and were able to get great tickets to see Charley Pride in person at his own “Theatre.” After the performance, we stood in line to talk to Mr. Pride and have him sign our memorabilia, which he did so gladly as he told us a little about himself and that he knew about Forney, since he had a home in Dallas.

When we had finished in line, we all went looking around the Theatre and to find some sodas, but J. Frank, Vivian’s Dad, went on out to the parking lot, unbeknownst to all of us. Finally, we gave up looking for him and decided to go wait at the car.

As we walked across the parking lot, I remarked to the Family that I could see “Papa,” sitting on the hood of the Cadillac and talking to some person.

When we came close enough to see and hear the conversation, we were amazed to see that J. Frank and Charley Pride were deep in conversation about Dallas, and cars, and whatever else men like to talk about! And he even stayed a while after we got there so that we could all talk to him, too!

My middle son, Waylon, and his buddies at U. N. T. liked to go to WinStar Casino just across the Texas-Oklahoma border to play cards late at night after a hard week of studying. They liked to get there about midnight to play a poker game called “Texas hold ’em” and usually sat back in the area I think he called “the regular folks’ area.”

Well, one night they were there, and it was getting really late (early in the morning actually), when they heard a scuffling noise at the door and looked up to see a really tall and in “good shape” Black man in “regular” clothes. He was a little imposing, according to Waylon!

The guys could not believe their eyes and ears when they figured out that it was Charley Pride saying, “Do you fellas mind if I join this table? I like to play with the ‘regular guys’ like me!”

Waylon said they were thrilled and spent the next three hours playing with and being entertained by a “star,” who was just “one of the guys” that night, just like he had been while sitting on the car with “Papa.”

Everybody I know has only kind words and complimentary things to say about this iconic MUSIC STAR, who has been advising us to follow what he apparently has been doing since 1956—Kissing an Angel Good Mornin’.

Congratulations to Charley Pride, a good man and a great singer with 30 hits that made it to #1 on Billboard’s “Hot Country Songs” chart through the years!

Side note: After I finished writing the rough copy of this story, I flipped on the RFD Channel to catch the latest “Larry’s Country Diner” that was featuring replays of old programs, hosted by Bill Anderson. Guess who a featured singer was? Yep, CHARLEY PRIDE, and everybody that night “loved that man!”