Charley Pride Receives Crossroads Award From Mississippi Grammy Museum

Country music legend Charley Pride is being honored in the state where he was born, with the Crossroads Award from the Mississippi Grammy Museum.

The "I'm Just Me" singer is the first person to receive the Crossroads of American Music Award. Pride was presented with the award on Friday, Nov. 1.

"I'm honored to be the first recipient of this award from the Grammy Museum Mississippi," Pride says in a press release. "And thankful to the many great American music artists before me that helped to pave the way for my success. I applaud the Museum for celebrating those artists and championing the importance of American music."

The award is presented to an artist who has made substantial contributions to music that have been important to building the foundation of American music.

"As a native of Mississippi, Charley has had a significant impact on American music with his uncompromising honky-tonk country music. Charley broke new ground in the '60s when he emerged as one of the most successful black country artists at that time. It's an honor to recognize Charley Pride as the inaugural recipient of our Crossroads of American Music Award," says Emily Havens, Executive Director of Grammy Museum Mississippi.

Pride was born in the Mississippi town of Sledge, before starting his recording career in the 1960s. During his career, Pride has won three Grammy awards, become a member of the Grand Ole Opry and scored 36 chart-topping hits in country music.

His life story was featured in a PBS American Masters documentary in 2019. Pride is also playing select shows across the United States from Nov. 2019 through January 2020. Dates and tickets are available on Pride's official website.

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