Jimmie Allen Remembers His ‘Hero’ Charley Pride
Jimmie Allen has posted an 18-minute video in tribute to his hero and mentor Charley Pride following the Country Music Hall of Fame Member’s death on Saturday. “I’ve learned so much from him,” Allen says halfway through, before running down a number of important interactions, conversations, and times the two have shared the stage over the past couple years.
Allen recalls becoming emotional noticing that Pride was watching him perform the first time he sang at the Grand Ole Opry. “I was like, ‘What in the world is life right now?’” Allen says. “I have the hero, the superman of black people in country music watching me perform my Opry debut.”
Additionally, Allen gives several accounts of various collaborations with Pride over the past year or so, including the time he received a file of Pride’s melodically left-field vocal performance for his collaboration “Why Things Happen” (“He kinda did his own thing,” Allen says) to rehearsals earlier this fall for Pride and Allen’s CMA Awards duet on “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’,” where Pride disagreed with the house band about how many bars in the song’s intro.
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The “Best Shot” singer’s tribute also recalls the time Pride expressed interest in meeting Kane Brown, and detailed conversations Allen had with Pride about the legend’s legacy, in which Pride asked Allen what other recent black country singers he should know.
“He became more like a grandfather as our relationship continued to build,” Allen says. “He inspired so many people.”
