The Pointer Sisters appear on the Grand Ole Opry 1974

The Pointer Sisters first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry October 25, 1974, becoming the first black female group to perform at the venue.  They performed Fairytale which went on to win a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group. 

Later, Elvis Presley covered Fairytale.

The Pointer Sisters win their first Grammy 1975

The Pointer Sisters win their first Grammy Award, March 1, 1975 for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for Fairytale.  The song was written by Anita and Bonnie, who were also nominated for Best Country Song as the songwriters.  Later Fairytale was covered by Elvis Presley. 

Based on the song's success, the Pointer Sisters were invited to Nashville, and became the first African-American group to perform at the Grand Ol' Opry!

Celebrating Black History Month: Charley Pride, first solo African-American to perform at Grand Ol' Opry

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.

Patsy Cline releases "I Fall To Pieces" 1961

The Queen of country music, Patsy Cline released her first #1 hit I Fall to Pieces, January 30, 1961.  It was mainly ignored by radio stations at first, but soon found an audience.  It entered the Billboard Country charts in April and made a slow rise to #1, to #12 on the Billboard Pop chart and #6 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.  Cline proved that a female could have cross-over hits on both charts. 

The success of I Fall to Pieces gained Cline an invitation to  join the Grand Ol'  Opry.  Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #238 of the top 500 Songs of All Time.  RIAA ranked it as 107 on the list of Songs of the Century.