ABCCMT is honoring Charley Pride‘s life and legacy with a special tribute.
The network will air CMT Remembers Charley Pride on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET featuring interviews with Pride, along with a variety of footage from his storied career.
The 30-minute special will include three decades worth of interviews collected with Pride, alongside vintage clips of his music and live performances.
“Despite facing pervasive racism throughout this legendary career, Pride’s perseverance and unmatched talent transcended generations, broke down barriers and blazed a new path for black country artists,” CMT says.
Loretta Lynn, Darius Rucker, Merle Haggard, Shania Twain and Tim McGraw are among the other artists who reflect on Pride’s work in the special, along with his wife Rozene, son Dion, sister Maxine and brother Joe.
Pride passed away on Saturday at the age of 86 from complications after contracting COVID-19. He had been hospitalized in Dallas with COVID-19-type symptoms in late November.
CMT Remembers Charley Pride will have encore presentations on Thursday at 9 a.m. ET and Saturday at 12 p.m. ET.
Joseph Llanes Maddie & Tae are celebrating Christmas at the happiest place on earth.
The duo of Maddie Marlow and Taylor Dye are performing a pair of Christmas classics, “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” on Disney Park’s Magical Christmas Celebration, airing on Christmas Day on ABC at 10.m. ET.
Hosted by Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Tituss Burgess and actress and dancer Julianne Hough, the special also features performances by Tori Kelly with “Let It Snow,” grown-ish star Trevor Jackson singing “The Christmas Song,” Tituss and Julianne delivering “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and more.
The show also includes previews of the upcoming Disney+ film Soul and the Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure ride opening at Epcot next year.
The special comes at the end of a year that saw Maddie & Tae at the top of the country charts with their number-one hit, “Die from a Broken Heart” that’s on their sophomore album, The Way It Feels.
Ian Gavan/Getty ImagesComedian and Saturday Night Live cast member Melissa Villaseñor delivered a spot-on impression of Dolly Parton during the Weekend Update segment of the show.
Dressed in a Dolly Parton costume complete with a wig, bedazzled white dress and enhanced cleavage, Melissa coyly tells Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost that she’s only there to perform Christmas songs, and not impersonate Dolly.
But then, Melissa opens her three-song set with a spot-on impression of Dolly singing “Holly Jolly Christmas” before delivering a new rendition of “Jingle Bells,” set to the tune of “Jolene.”
“News flash, I want to be Dolly, who doesn’t? She’s the coolest. She’s a great singer, she writes her own songs, she donated a million dollars to the vaccine,” Melissa declares between songs, rounding out her impression by singing what she jokingly refers to as her favorite hymn she used to hear at midnight mass — Dolly’s iconic “9 to 5.”
In a follow-up Instagram post, Melissa shares that Dolly’s book Dream More offered her a source of comfort during the pandemic.
“@dollyparton i love you. Early in pandemic i was alone for while at home and i was desperate for someone to bring me comfort and i found dolly’s audiobook “dream more” it made me cry and smile and laugh and believe again,” the comedian writes.
Country Radio Broadcasters Ashley McBryde, Hardy, Matt Stell, Travis Denning and Tenille Arts have been named to the Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces class of 2021.
The New Faces of Country Music show lineup is voted on by members of the country music industry. The show has been a key component of the annual CRS, which launched in 1970, showcasing the up-and-coming artists who are expected to make a significant breakthrough in the genre. Previous artists who were named to New Faces include Taylor Swift, Luke Combs, Luke Bryan and Maren Morris.
CRS is a three-day event typically held in Nashville that brings together professionals in radio and the music industry for a variety of panels and workshops. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CRS 2021 will be held virtually on February 16-19. All five artists will perform when the New Faces of Country Music show closes out the seminar on February 19.
ABCJimmie Allen, Dolly Parton and Carrie Underwood are among the many artists who turned to social media over the weekend to pay tribute to Charley Pride following the country legend’s death from complications due to COVID-19.
Jimmie, who performed with Pride at the CMA Awards last month and presented him with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, shared a lengthy video reflecting on Pride’s impact on his life.
“He came into country music in a time where there was so much public hate toward people because of the color of their skin…It showed his courage. It showed his love and passion for music,” Jimmie says in a video titled “Rest in Love Mr. Pride,” citing Pride as a “hero,” “friend” and “grandfather” figure in his life.
For her part, Dolly tweeted, “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.”
Darius Rucker also expressed remorse in his online post, citing Pride as “one of the finest people I know.” He went on, “My heart is so heavy. Charley Pride was an icon a legend and any other word u wanna use for his greatness. He destroyed Barriers and did things that no one had ever done.”
Carrie also paid homage to the icon, calling him a “sweet and legendary man” who had a gift for remembering birthdays. “I don’t know how he remembered, but he always did…I’m so glad I got a few chances to be in the presence of Charley,” she said.
According to a statement posted on Charley’s Facebook, the 86-year-old singer was hospitalized with COVID-19-type symptoms in late November. He passed away from complications from the virus on December 12.
Here are some other country star reactions to Pride and his passing:
Luke Combs: “I was in awe of his presence and his talent.”
ABCCMT is honoring Charley Pride‘s life and legacy with a special tribute. 
