Charlie Pride passed away on December 12th of complications from covid and, as I so often am compelled to do when I learn of the death of a prominent artist that I’ve never heard of, I decided to check out his work. He was the first black country star, having started a music career in the 1950s while also playing baseball in the Negro Leagues. While I don’t necessarily care for his brand of music, the sheer scale of his accomplishments in a time when country music was less-than-welcoming to black artists is impressive to say the least. Not to say that his loss is any more or less tragic than your average covid victim, but the increasing death toll among prominent Americans really highlights our failure as a country to respond responsibly to this crisis.
