ABCDarius Rucker is opening up about the last words he exchanged with the late Charley Pride.

Darius and Reba McEntire were serving as co-hosts of the 2020 CMA Awards in November, during which Charley was honored with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Darius had the chance to speak with the country icon during the show, and the two had made plans to get together for a social distance visit in Charley’s native state of Mississippi. But Charley sadly passed away from complications due to COVID-19 in December.

“When I saw him, we talked for a minute, and I told him I wanted to come to Mississippi. I said, ‘This is the perfect time. I’ll come, and we’ll social distance and sit and talk and drink some coffee,'” Darius shares with Southern Living. “And he was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do that.’ It was the last time I spoke to him.” 

The South Carolina native also shares that the most memorable moment of the night for him was when Charley took the stage to accept the prestigious award.

“The whole deal, really, was seeing Charley receive that [lifetime achievement] award and get it when he was still alive,” Darius recalls. “You can look at all the legends who are still around, all of whom are great, and none of them deserves it more than Charley.”

Darius recently collected his 10th #1 country single with “Beers and Sunshine.”  

By Cillea Houghton 
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