Born March 18, 1934, in Sledge, Mississippi, Charley Pride shattered racial barriers to become country music’s first Black superstar after releasing his 1966 debut, Country Charley Pride. 1972 was a particularly dominant year for the four-time Grammy winner, with much of it spent atop the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. On this day in 1972, Charley Pride was again at No. 1 with the biggest crossover hit of his career, “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’.”
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This Song Showed Charley Pride’s Full Potential
The first single from his 13th studio album Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs, “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” shares a tender, simple secret to lasting romance: You’ve got to kiss an angel good mornin’… And love her like the devil when you get back home.
Pride’s first No. 1 single was a live cover of Hank Williams’ 1953 single “Kaw-Liga” in 1969. His mod-tinged rendition couldn’t have been more different from Williams’ swingy bluegrass tune. And for legendary producer Jack Clement, that was exactly the point.
“All the music sounded alike. And there was no real movement in it; no changes. It was all just kind of ‘sticky,’” Clement said in Ken Burns’ 2019 documentary Country Music. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer was looking for something more “inventive.”
“I thought it ought to move out a little bit,” he said. “And it finally did.”
“Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” was that song. Blending modern sounds with Pride’s “otherworldly” vocals, the track helped shift country music to a more soul-influenced, countrypolitan vibe.
“It’s My Music Too”
“Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” gave Charley Pride his eighth No. 1 hit, but it wasn’t just country fans who couldn’t get enough. The song also became Pride’s only Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 21 on the Hot 100.
Both George Jones and Conway Twitty covered “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” in 1972. And nearly three decades later, Alan Jackson put his spin on the love song for his 1999 album Under the Influence. But to this day, it remains Charley Pride’s signature song and one of his most impactful contributions to country music.
“My oldest sister used to say to me, ‘Why are you singing their music?’” Pride reflected during a 2015 appearance on The Big Interview with Dan Rather, five years before his death in 2020 at age 86. “You know, y’all, them, and us, just go right to the point. I said, ‘Well, it’s my music too, if I like it.’”
Featured image by Erika Goldring/FilmMagic
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