Watch Brad Paisley’s Tribute Performance for Charley Pride at American Music Awards: “We Miss You, Charley”

During the American Music Awards 50th anniversary special, Brad Paisley took the stage in L.A. to perform his new single “Truck Still Works.” However, before that, he also took a moment to share a tribute to the late Charley Pride, who won big at the first American Music Awards 50 years ago.

“50 years ago, Charley Pride won two awards at the very first American Music Awards and that’s a big deal, y’all. It was really, really cool,” said Paisley. He also shared a special story of how Pride had a hand in his own music career.

“Many years later, when I was 15, Charley saw me play and he gave me his home phone number,” Paisley continued. “And he said to my dad, ‘Hey, I wanna help your son.’ And help me he did. He was such a great guy and we miss him so much. Tonight, I’d love to sing a little bit of this classic by a man called Pride.”

Paisley sang the chorus to Pride’s “Kiss an Angel Good Morning,” honoring the man who helped him become the performer he is today. He uttered a simple, “We miss you, Charley,” before launching into his new single.

Brad Paisley was just one performer representing country music at the American Music Awards. Kane Brown was in attendance, and he performed his song “Miles On It” while also singing a few bars of Alan Jackson’s “Drive.” Both Paisley and Brown presented the future of country music while also honoring the past, which made for a special 50th anniversary for the American Music Awards.

[RELATED: Exclusive: Brad Paisley Talks “Truck Still Works,” Modern Sequel to “Mud On The Tires”]

Brad Paisley Says “Truck Still Works” is a Modern-Day “Mud On the Tires”

Speaking with American Songwriter, Brad Paisley recently shared that his new single, “Truck Still Works,” is actually a look back at one of his biggest songs, “Mud On the Tires.”

“It’s the thing where everything old is new again,” said Paisley. “It’s so much fun to go, ‘Okay, how do we do something that’s both reminiscent and brand new?’ That’s always the challenge.”

He continued, speaking about the process of narrowing down how much of the old song to include in the new. According to Paisley, that was part of the fun. “There was a lot of, ‘Do you moonlight in a duck blind, catfish on a trot line?’ Which ones do you not put in? What’s too much? What’s enough? Not enough?’” he explained, adding, “Trust me, we tried each of those. We tried doing too much. We tried not enough.  And it really got fun.”

Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images