Charley Pride › RCA Country Legends

Personnel includes: Charley Pride (vocals); Billy Grammer, Peter Wade, Chip Young, Jerry Stembridge (guitar); Lloyd Green, Charles O'Neal (steel guitar); Johnny Gimble, Tommy Williams (fiddle); Bill Pursell, David Briggs (piano); Mike Leech, Billy Sanford, Roy Huskey Jr. (bass); Jerry Carrigan, D.J. Fontana, Jimmy Isbel (drums); Hurshel Wiginton, June Page, Dolores Edgin, Joseph Babcock (background vocals).

Producers include: Jack Clement, Chet Atkins, Felton Jarvis, Bob Ferguson, Jerry Bradley.

Compilation producer: Rob Santos.

Includes liner notes by Rich Kienzle.

Charley Pride was the first African-American country superstar, and these days it's hard to believe that his earliest records, like his 1965 debut "Snakes Crawl At Night," (written by Mel Tillis) were originally released without his picture on the 45 sleeve. By 1967 and "Just Between You and Me," however, country fans knew him and embraced him. This compilation, which includes those two songs, features no less than 12 (!) Number One country hits, each sung by Pride in his unmistakable twangy baritone. High points include terrific covers of Hank Williams (a 1979 version of "Honky Tonk Blues"), rockabilly cult figure Harold Dorman's "Mountain of Love," and "Busted," the 1963 Ray Charles hit.

Genre:

• Country & Bluegrass

Music Categories:

• Country: Nashville Sound