Charley Pride

“I don't care what the religion is called; as far as I'm concerned, one God, the God I adhere to, is in charge of all of them.”

“Any entertainer who tells you that the adoration of fans is not a heady experience probably never had the experience.”

“A black man singing about a blond girl was potential trouble.”

“What qualifies me to tell people how to act or what to think? I'm Charley Pride, country singer. Period.”

“The tastes of country music fans are not limited to the narrow range defined by consultants and programmers and record company moguls.”

“Once your name becomes well known, politicians come courting.”

“For most entertainers, there is a single experience, one defining moment, when confidence replaces the self-doubt that most of us wrestle with.”

“In 20 years I had sold more records for RCA than any artist except Elvis Presley.”

“Performing is an experience, for me, that is as humbling as it is energizing.”

“Too many religious organizations are in the business of enforcing beliefs.”

“Singing as a full-time job was not something I had given a lot of thought to and I had no clear notion of the money to be made in it.”

“It used to be that if you had a pretty good record, you could stop by a station in Little Rock or Atlanta and let the DJ listen to it. No way something like that can happen now.”

“When I came up, there was room for the new and the old. For every new artist, an old one didn't have to be pushed out.”

“There is an intimacy about the Opry Theater that gives an entertainer a special charge.”

“Fans will praise you, scold you, and offer helpful advice. Fans will also defend you.”