European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 18, 1973, Darmstadt, Hesse Was located in the South and Southwest. Putting a Black country Singer across in those sections was considered about As easy As Selling a British Flag to Bernadette Devlin. Ria accomplished the feat however with the Aid of a Little deception and a lot of shrewdness. The company had Pride re Cord three singles and then released them to radio stations without informing disk jockeys that the vocalist was Black. No photos of Pride were released and no Bio graphical data of him was made available. Listening audiences bought Pride s. Voice immediately they hailed him As a sensational new find in the country music world. It was t until months later that they Learned of his color. By that time they did t care. Pride went along wholeheartedly with the Ria plan. I knew that a lot of people were Hung up on color in this country. And i knew that Many of them would t accept me if they realized i was Black. When the record company decided to hide my color i thought it was a Good no one can dispute that it did t turn out marvellously. Pride now has 19 Ria albums to his credit and his lengthy list of awards reads As though he s been in show business for 50 years. His concerts create the excitement Usu ally associated with Rock groups. The audience starts to howl from the moment it spots the 6-foot-l, 185-Pound muscular vocalist decked out in a White Cowboy suit. And when Pride begins to sing confident and controlled the crowd cheers every acrobatic turn of his voice. When the last note ends a cordon of policemen is quickly set up to protect Pride from his admirers. He grudgingly agrees to the arrangement. During my Early engagements i used to enjoy chatting with the fans at the end of the concert. It was the fun part of the Busi Ness because i love to talk to people. But then i almost got Hurt by spectators in Baltimore and Austin and my manager decided to take precautions. The fans Don t mean to Hurt you but sometimes they get a Little emotional and tear the clothes right off a pinpointing the reason for Pride s phenomenal Success can be a difficult chore. He does t write his own material As do country greats Merle Haggard and Tom t. Hall. He can t play the guitar As expertly As Glen Campbell and Jerry Reed. His voice in t As distinctive As Kris Kristoffer son s or Johnny Cash s. Maybe Pride s own explanation is the Best. I m just a country Singer who appeals to it s True that his Choice of material transcends the narrow con fines of country music. And it s quite pos sible that hell be Able to leap from the grand old opry image of Nashville to posh supper clubs throughout the nation. This thought May be very much in his mind these Days because he even resent being photographed with a guitar the most identifiable prop of country music. I think that a guitar makes people thin of a Guy coming out of the Backwoods with his toes sticking out. My music is the music of America. Beside you would t ask Frank Sinatra to pose with a guitar would you he adheres to a hectic schedule playing concerts on weekends and spending Many hours in recording studios. Whenever he can manage it Pride ducks out to the Golf course. He has never broken 80, but has t Given up trying. Even though i m not too Good i d like to play a lot More. However my wife Rozene argues that it would keep me away from her and our children Kraig Dion and Angela too much. She s right of course but i still have managed to squeeze in rounds at the Glen Campbell and Houston pro celebrity though he likes nothing better than to Chat by the hour Pride becomes less communicative when the conversation swings to politics. He reveals that he was invited by presi Dent Nixon to the White House last year but could t make it because i was Busy Pride also failed to accept bids to sing at both the Republican and demo cratic conventions for the same reason. Pride refused to Campaign in last year s election. I would t Campaign if my daddy was running for senator. I m strictly an entertainer. If i did Campaign i d cease to be a Singer and turn into an activist. As far As politics is concerned i Don t even know who my wife voted for. I did t ask her because i did t want to subject of race also seems to make him uncomfortable. Yet it does t bother me when i Don t see a single Black face in my audiences. I realize that most Blacks Aren t oriented to country music and i also realize Many have been told that it in t their music and they Haven t the courage to say they like it. But my situation in t unique anyhow. Look at Johnny Mathis. His audience is predominantly White in t it not too Long ago Black country Singer Tony Edwards put out an album and in the liner notes he said i want to thank Godard Charley Pride for making this pos listened to the acknowledgement with no show of emotion. I did t go into country music to break barriers for someone else. But if it happened that s Fine. I did t make this society. I just happened to be born into i knew Many of them would t accept me if they realized i was sunday november 18/ 1973 the stars and stripes Page a 3
