Charley Pride Has A Key Moment

Charley Pride answers questions from fans at GAC Presents CMA Celebrity Close Up at the Ryman Auditorium in Downtown Nashville on Thursday, June 7 during the 2007 CMA Music Festival. Photo Courtesy of the CMA. Photographer: Jim Hagans / CMA.

June 23, 2009 — Charley Pride was made an honorary Canadian citizen on Saturday and given a key to the city of Edmonton after he went out of his way to rectify what he saw as the financial abuse of a 58-year-old fan.

When tickets for the show went on sale this spring, Jacqueline Sharp bought two through a concert resale site on the Internet and paid a whopping $1,210.71, according to CBC News. The value of the tickets before adding service charges should have not exceeded $67.50, Ticketmaster Canada has said, and Jacqueline’s son sent an e-mail to Charley’s website asking why his mother had been forced to pay such an exhorbitant price.

Charley likewise thought the price was inappropriate. In April, he personally visited Jacqueline in Leduc, Alberta. He refunded the excess cost of the tickets and gave her new ones that put her in the front row. When he came back for Saturday’s concert, she and her fellow patrons were treated to a rendition of her favorite song, "Crystal Chandeliers," in addition to such familiar Charley Pride hits as "Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town," "Is Anybody Goin’ To San Antone" and "Mountain Of Love." He also covered Jim Reeves’ "He’ll Have To Go," Buck Owens’ "Act Naturally" and George Jones’ "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

"It was emotional for a moment there," she told The Edmonton Journal. "He’s a great entertainer, and he’s been a favorite of mine from Day One."

Charley continues touring the Great White North through mid July.