Charley Pride photo courtesy of charleypride.com
February 11, 2008 — Charley Pride was honored Friday night with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the State of Mississippi, presented by Governor Haley Barbour.
Charley was one of five recipients, celebrated for their place in the arts, in culture and in the economic development of the state.
Charley acknowledged that his success came about in part because he broke down the barriers of expectation. Of all its music, Mississippi is best known for the blues, but Charley heard the sounds of the Grand Ole Opry on the radio, and he gravitated toward country music, which has often been referred to by musicologists as the white man's blues.
"My older sister one time said, 'Why are you singing their music?'" Pride recalled, according to the Associated Press. "But we all understand what the y'all-and-us syndrome has been. See, I never as an individual accepted that, and I truly believe that's why I am where I am today."
Approximately 1,000 people attended the ceremony at the Galloway United Methodist Church in Jackson. Upon receiving his award, Charley sang the Clay Walker hit "The Chain of Love."
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