Tonight 12/16: Don’t Miss the ‘CMT Remembers Charley Pride’ Special (Premiering 8 p.m. ET)

On Dec. 12, the country music community mourned the passing of Charley Pride. The 86-year-old trailblazer and first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame passed away due to complications from the coronavirus.

Pride’s death came roughly a month after he performed at the Country Music Awards:

Tonight, Dec. 16, CMT will premiere CMT Remembers Charley Pride, a special program dedicated to celebrating Pride’s life, legacy and influence.

TONIGHT #CMT is honoring late country music trailblazer Charley Pride with a new special.

Tune in at 8PM ET/7PM CT. https://t.co/tAmxA8N077

— CMT (@CMT) December 16, 2020

The show premieres at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT, with encore broadcasts set for Thursday, December 17 (9 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. CT / 6 a.m. PT) and Saturday, December 19th (12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT / 9 a.m. PT).

More on the show, per CMT’s official announcement:

Featuring three decades of interviews and commentary from Pride himself, blended alongside archival footage of his greatest hits and most memorable performances, the half-hour event follows the Country Music Hall of Famer from his humble beginnings in Mississippi to his rise to CMA Entertainer of the Year with an unprecedented string of hits.

The special will include appearances and footage from some of Pride’s closest friends, colleagues and admirers, including Darius Rucker, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Tim McGraw, Shania Twain and more, alongside his beloved family, his wife Rozene, son Dion, sister Maxine and his brother Joe.

Charley Pride’s family and close friends will hold a private wake and memorial in Dallas this week, with future plans for a public celebration of life memorial ceremony to be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to The Pride Scholarship at Jesuit College Preparatory School, St. Phillips School and Community center, any local food bank, or the charity of your choice.