Charley Pride to Be Honored During ‘Grammy Salute to Music Legends’ Special
Months after he received the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award, Charley Pride will be given another honor. The country legend will be celebrated during the Recording Academy's 2017 Special Merit Awards at New York's Beacon Theatre with a tribute concert.
The show — Grammy Salute to Music Legends — will be taped on July 11 and will air on PBS later this year. In addition to Pride, the night will recognize all of 2017's honorees including Shirley Caesar, Ahmad Jamal, Jimmie Rodgers, Nina Simone, Sly Stone and the Velvet Underground. The evening concert will be conducted by musical director Paul Shaffer and will pay tribute to each artist in the form of performances by the honorees, as well as those they've inspired.
Additional acts set to take the famed New York City stage include Andra Day, who will be honoring Simone; Kirk Franklin, who will pay tribute to Caesar; Randy Newman, who will honor Ostin; Dwight Yoakam, who will salute Rodgers. Tickets for the event are currently available through Ticketmaster, with more artists to be announced at a later date.
Pride is set to release his new album, Music in My Heart, on July 7. The record marks his first studio release since 2011’s Choices and will include 13 new songs written by songwriters including Bill Anderson, the late Tommy Collins, jazz star Johnny Mathis and Billy Yates.
“It was fun getting back into the studio," Pride says. "My goal was to record the best traditional country album possible."
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