Intended as a country version of Laugh-In, Hee Haw aired its first episode June 15, 1969. Buck Owens and Roy Clark hosted the show, which featured comic skits, jokes, and country music. Hee Haw helped boost careers of many budding music stars.
Loretta Lynn and Charley Pride appeared in the first episode. The series ran for twenty-six seasons, finally wrapping up in 2003.
Roberta Flack won two Grammy Awards for her performance of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face at the 15th annual ceremony held March 3, 1973. She won Record of the Year with Joel Dorn, producer. The second Grammy went to the songwriter Ewan MacColl for Song of the Year.
The same night she won Best Pop Vocal Performance by Duo, Group or Chorus with Donnie Hathaway for their performance of Where is the Love?
Charley Pride won two Grammys. Best Country Vocal Performance, Male for Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs; and Best Country Song for Kiss an Angel Good Morning with songwriter Ben Peters.
Billy Preston won Best Pop Instrumental Performance for Outa-Space.
The first annual American Music Awards was held on February 19, 1974 and produced by Dick Clark Productions. African-American artists won big, winning at least one award in each of three categories, and sweeping the Soul/R&B category.
Stevie Wonder won two awards: Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Song for Superstition.
Charley Pride also won two awards: Favorite Country Male Artist, and Favorite Country Album, A Sunshiny Day with Charley Pride.
Roberta Flack won for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist
The Temptations won Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group
Al Green won Favorite Soul/R&B Album for I'm Still In Love With You.
Diana Ross won Favorite Pop/Rock Album for Lady Sings the Blues.
Country music legend, singer, baseball player and groundbreaker Charley Pride passed away today at 86 from COVID-19. He was born in Sledge, Mississippi March 18, 1934, the fourth of eleven children born to poor sharecroppers.
He got his first guitar at 14 and taught himself to play. In 1952, he pitched for the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League, and then signed with the Boise Yankees, the farm team of the New York Yankees. An injury caused him to be traded (with another player) to the Birmingham Black Barons.
He was pitching for a semipro team in Helena, Montana when his singing ability became known. He released his first single The Snakes Crawl at Night in 1966. It did not chart and neither did the second single. But his third Just Between You and Me reached #9 on the US Country Chart. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for it the next year.
He won four Grammys over his career including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.
He is one of only three African-Americans to become a member of the Grand Ol' Opry and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. He's had 30 #1 country hits.
Charley Pride, who broke all sorts of color barriers in country music, got a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame July 21, 1999. He received four Grammys and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
Charley Pride broke through a lot of barriers in the 1960s as he one of the first, if not THE first, African-American to enjoy success as a country music performer. He was the first solo African-American performer at the Grand Ol' Opry in 1967. (DeFord Bailey was the first African-American performer, but he was a harmonica player.) Charley had 8 simultaneous #1 hits on the Country Hit Parade and charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
His biggest hit Kiss and Angel Good Mornin' was a crossover hit and helped him win Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist in 1971. He has won four Grammy Awards including Best Country Vocal Performance, Male in 1972 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.
He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
