(CNN)Country music legend Charley Pride died Saturday at age 86, a representative for the singer announced.
Pride died in Dallas of complications from Covid-19, the release said.
Born on March 18, 1934, in Sledge, Mississippi, the singer was a sharecropper's son who rose to become country music's first black superstar.
His baritone voice was featured on more than 50 Top 10 country hits and he was the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
He fell in love with the genre while listening to Grand Ole Opry radio shows in his youth.
Read More
1 of 161
2 of 161
3 of 161
4 of 161
5 of 161
6 of 161
7 of 161
8 of 161
9 of 161
10 of 161
11 of 161
12 of 161
13 of 161
14 of 161
15 of 161
16 of 161
17 of 161
18 of 161
19 of 161
20 of 161
21 of 161
22 of 161
23 of 161
24 of 161
25 of 161
26 of 161
27 of 161
28 of 161
29 of 161
30 of 161
31 of 161
32 of 161
33 of 161
34 of 161
35 of 161
36 of 161
37 of 161
38 of 161
39 of 161
40 of 161
41 of 161
42 of 161
43 of 161
44 of 161
45 of 161
46 of 161
47 of 161
48 of 161
49 of 161
50 of 161
51 of 161
52 of 161
53 of 161
54 of 161
55 of 161
56 of 161
57 of 161
58 of 161
59 of 161
60 of 161
61 of 161
62 of 161
63 of 161
64 of 161
65 of 161
66 of 161
67 of 161
68 of 161
69 of 161
70 of 161
71 of 161
72 of 161
73 of 161
74 of 161
75 of 161
76 of 161
77 of 161
78 of 161
79 of 161
80 of 161
81 of 161
82 of 161
83 of 161
84 of 161
85 of 161
86 of 161
87 of 161
88 of 161
89 of 161
90 of 161
91 of 161
92 of 161
93 of 161
94 of 161
95 of 161
96 of 161
97 of 161
98 of 161
99 of 161
100 of 161
101 of 161
102 of 161
103 of 161
104 of 161
105 of 161
106 of 161
107 of 161
108 of 161
109 of 161
110 of 161
111 of 161
112 of 161
113 of 161
114 of 161
115 of 161
116 of 161
117 of 161
118 of 161
119 of 161
120 of 161
121 of 161
122 of 161
123 of 161
124 of 161
125 of 161
126 of 161
127 of 161
128 of 161
129 of 161
130 of 161
131 of 161
132 of 161
133 of 161
134 of 161
135 of 161
136 of 161
137 of 161
138 of 161
139 of 161
140 of 161
141 of 161
142 of 161
143 of 161
144 of 161
145 of 161
146 of 161
147 of 161
148 of 161
149 of 161
150 of 161
151 of 161
152 of 161
153 of 161
154 of 161
155 of 161
156 of 161
157 of 161
158 of 161
159 of 161
160 of 161
161 of 161
But his first swing at professional success came when he played Negro League baseball at 16, eventually becoming an all-star player.
Pride sang in music clubs in his spare time but decided to make it a full-time endeavor after a failed tryout with the New York Mets.
Pride arrived in Nashville in 1963 and was eventually signed to RCA Records in 1965 by country guitarist and record executive Chet Atkins.
His first single, 1967's "Just Between You and Me," broke into the Top 10 on country charts and garnered Pride his first Grammy nomination. Pride quit his job at a Missouri smelting plant and embarked on a career that spanned more than four decades.
Between 1967 and 1987, Pride had 52 Top 10 country hits, won Grammy awards, and became RCA Records' top-selling country artist, his representative said.
Pride's early singles were released without mention of his race or a photo of him.
"We're not color blind yet, but we've advanced a few paces along the path and I like to think I've contributed something to that process," Pride wrote in his memoir.
Some of Pride's biggest hits include "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone" and "Just Between You and Me." In 1971, his recording of "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" became his biggest hit, reaching No. 1 on the country charts and crossing over to No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Pride was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1993 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
His final performance was on November 11 when he received the Country Music Association's lifetime achievement award at the annual CMA Awards show. He performed "Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'" with Jimmie Allen at the event, though several other groups skipped the show due to positive Covid-19 tests or exposure.
I'm so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away. It's even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19. What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you. (1/2)
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) December 12, 2020
Fellow country music legend Dolly Parton paid tribute to Pride on Twitter, calling him one of her "dearest and oldest friends."
"It's even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19," Parton wrote. "What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you."
Pride is survived by his wife, Ebby Rozene Cohran Pride, three children, five grandchildren, and two grandchildren, his representative said.
CNN's Eric Fiegel, Dianne Gallagher and Ed Lavandera contributed to this report.